Golden
by shayisaslytherin
Summary: How Narcissa Black became Narcissa Malfoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Edited**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**Once upon a time a little girl was raised by monsters. But the angels burned the doorways and she was all alone." –Laini Taylor **

"What?" Druella shrieked at the Healer. "What do you mean she has an anxiety disorder? Her! My daughter! My Narcissa?" Her heels clicked steadily against the wood as she paced back and forth. She stopped for a moment to yell "how could she have an anxiety disorder, you incompetent excuse for a man?" She resumed her pacing again, wringing her hands together in agitation.

"Ma'am, these are the facts. Your daughter is displaying all the symptoms of having a General Anxiety Disorder, Mrs. Black." The middle aged Healer patted Narcissa on the back comfortingly, seemingly not impacted by the look of pure outrage that contorted Druella's face. "There are treatment options available, to make her life as average as possible. There are potions that she can take daily-"

"Absolutely not!" Druella shrieked. "Everyone would notice if she had to take potions! It would disgrace the family name." By this point her pacing had increased, and she shook with rage.

It was not a peaceful scene. Narcissa pulled her arms tighter around herself, trying to make herself as small as possible. She wished to be anywhere but there, in the darkly colored and small room. Her mother's yells and wails only served to make the space feel more oppressive. Andi had insisted that her mother would take her to see a Healer, believing that she had a more serious problem than any of them had believed. In fact, her mother was so assured that her youngest was completely fine that she allowed the Healer into her house to begin with. She let him in just to stop Andromeda's constant nagging.

"Then there are other options. Weekly therapy has been shown to help people with her same condition. If she is treated as quickly and as efficiently as possible, then the problem may go away permanently." The Healer was calm, much more so than any person is when Druella Black flew into one of her rages. The only sigh of his nerves came from the occasional smoothing of his thin hair. He had a comb over, which he repetitively smoothed his hair back over. Narcissa wondered if he was aware that he was fooling nobody into thinking his hair was coming back, or if he had deceived his own self.

"She doesn't have anything wrong with her. She does not have a condition. I will not allow the furtherance of this ridicule on my family. Leave now." Druella pointed her wand first and the Healer, then flicked it in the direction of the door. The massive ebony door flew open, hitting the end of its hinges loudly with a bang. "Leave and know you have insulted the great name of the Black family."

The Healer quietly gathered his belongings, dropping them into a small leather briefcase that had his name carved into it. He turned and walked out the door, calling over his shoulder "I warn you, if this disorder remains untreated, it will just become worse with time. Her forgetfulness will turn into full blown panic attacks. She will find it increasingly hard to maintain a normal life."

"GET OUT!" Druella shrieked. Narcissa flinched away without thinking.

The Healer turned and walked away, not bothering to say anything else. His robes swished as he walked away. Narcissa watched, feeling a bit guilty because of her mother's poor treatment of the man who was only trying to help. She quickly thought of something else. He was beneath her, beneath purebloods. He deserved to be treated that way. This is what she is taught as a proper young lady of social standing, and this is what her family holds too.

"Cissy, make sure he leaves the house without taking any of our things. I don't trust him." Gruella pulled Narcissa to her feet, patted the nonexistent wrinkles out from her dress, and then shooed her gently through the door. "Then you must go to your piano lessons. Understood?"

"Yes mother," Narcissa's voice was soft and subdued. She followed the Healer, trying her best to blend in with the walls. It would have been simple enough to do that, if not for her white blonde hair. The walls of the home were thickly wallpapered in dark hues, and the floors were stained a dark, shiny ebony. Her grey dress blended in well with the home, she thought. If her hair was as dark as the rest of her families, all of her would have faded into the background. Her hair, her composure, her anxiety stood out in this home, and try as she might she would never be able to blend into her surroundings.

The Healer didn't linger, he walked briskly down the long corridor. A couple of the paintings they passed looked at him, but other than that ignored him. The painting of my great-grandfather Cygnus sneered at the Healer, who had stopped, looking a bit confused.

"The entry room is over here." Narcissa opened a door to her right and gestured for the man to follow her. She lifted her chin a bit as she had seen her mother and sisters do countless times and forced confidence into her voice. "The house is a bit confusing, sometimes."

The Healer jumped a bit, just then realizing that he had been followed. He nodded at the little girl, and walked into the entry room. "Thank you."

"How will I get worse?" Narcissa looked around before asking to make sure that no one was watching her. Her blue eyes were wide, and showed a sense of knowledge that were well beyond her years.

The healer looked at the little girl. He considered lying, and telling her that she would be fine. That her mother was correct and he was wrong about his diagnosis. He would have said all those things, if not for the knowing look in Narcissa's eyes. She knew when she was being lied to. All Blacks did. It was something that was part of their nature.

"Don't lie to me. Please. I would like to really know." She said again, dropping her haughty attitude. She looked scared, like any child should be. Narcissa knew this, but she couldn't find herself caring about how poor of behavior this was. Proper girls weren't ever scared, and they certainly never showed it.

"All the symptoms that you have described to me, the panic attacks, your fear of crowds, and your compulsive need to have everything organized, will get worse as you get older. You may even develop more problems if this remains untreated." He tried to smile, but he stopped. To smile at a child as you told them that things were going to get worse would look a bit sadistic. "You could try to find a way to get some treatment, but I cannot do much else if your mother will not allow it."

Narcissa nodded, then looked at her feet. Pressing her palms together she murmured. She closed her eyes for a moment and took deep, steadying breaths just as Andromeda had instructed to do whenever she felt particularly upset. "Thank you," she whispered and opened her eyes again.

The healer opened the door leading out of the house. Before stopping with a thoughtful expression on his face. He then pulled a piece of paper from his bag. He scrawled out his name and how to contact him, then held it out for Narcissa to take. Then he left, without another word.

As the door clicked shut, Narcissa read the paper.

_For when things get too horrible_

_M. Jefferson Daniels, Healer at St. Mungos _

_Prescription for the potion Cura Mederi to be administered to Narcissa A. Black_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 Edited **

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**You are frightened of everything. You call it caution. You call it common sense. You call it practicality. You call it playing the odds, but that's only because you're afraid to call it by its real name, and its real name is fear." –Mick Farren****  
**

_Breathe. Remember what Andi said. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe slowly._

Narcissa struggled to maintain her composure once again. _This is the second time today_, she thought bitterly to herself. She pressed her painted fingernails into her palm, trying to regain her focus. _It's just a test. Nothing to worry about. All will be fine, if I can just calm down. _

As she was mentally chanting this to herself, she felt herself grow more panicked. _It is just a test. I. Will. Be. Fine. _She had pulled her knees up to her chest in a fetal position, rocking slowly back and forth with her head resting on her knees. She couldn't stay like this for long before someone would notice her strange position.

Ten minutes had elapsed before Narcissa felt calm enough to move away from the secluded corner of the library where she had been studying before she had her anxiety attack. She gathered up her belongings, making sure her papers were lined up and organized according to subject. Arithmancy was the first subject, followed by Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. She took care to make sure she had all her quills in order as well before making her way back to the dormitories.

The Ordinary Wizarding Exams were scheduled to take place tomorrow, which was the primary source of Narcissa's anxiety. When she was being rational, she knew that she would do fine. She was one of the top students in her year, receiving high marks in every class that she took. Narcissa did so well in school that she was offered the position of Slytherin Prefect last year, a title that she respectfully declined. Her reasoning, publicly at least, was that she would lose valuable time that could be allocated towards studying if she became a Prefect. Her actual reasons, had more to do with her anxiety issues than anything else.

No one alive other than herself and her sisters knew of her anxiety disorder. Her mother took her secret with her to the grave when she died four years previous. Andromeda would guard her secret with her life, and because of this she was who Narcissa chose to confide in when she felt so inclined. Bellatrix, on the other hand, would easily tell others about her secret should she feel the need or desire. At the moment, Bella felt that telling the world that her younger sister had an anxiety disorder would reflect badly on her. This could change as Bella's whims are subjective to her mood.

There were times Narcissa wished that Bella would say something. Then she could do away with her pretense of the perfect pureblooded girl. She wore a mask, a mask of perfection, whenever she was in the presence of others. The only people to see through this mask had been her sisters.

"It is essential," Her mother had told her soon after the healer had diagnosed her, "that no one knows of what just transpired. It is to remain a secret, and should this secret get out, it will bring shame to the family name. No child from the house of Black has had an anxiety disorder before, and no child will have one as long as we remain." She could still remember her mother's distress. She could still hear the fear of being discovered ringing in her voice. Druella Black made sure that her youngest appeared out in social events as often as she could and looked as normal as possible. She taught her youngest daughter to keep up the appearance of perfection, until she died. When she passed away, the task was given to her two older sisters. Bella had told Narcissa that on their mother's deathbed, she had made her and Andromeda promise to keep the youngest in line, and that they had agreed to do so.

Narcissa entered her dorm room, sighing in relief when she found that it was empty of the three other girls she shared it with. She then carefully placed her bag inside her trunk, which was kept at the foot of her bed, and pulled out her sketchbook and pencils.

She occupied herself by drawing for the next few hours, only stopping when the light began to fade from the room.

_It is probably time for dinner, _she thought to herself. To keep up appearances, she would have to attend. It was always easier for her to go directly to the kitchen for her meals. There was a lot less people and noise in the kitchen. She was, however, unable to skip too many public meals. The more meals she skipped, the more people would talk. The more people that talked, to more people would speculate that the youngest daughter of the Black household was not all as she appeared. She couldn't allow that to happen, so she would eat the majority of her meals in the Great Hall.

Narcissa was only a few minutes late when she made it into the Great Hall, so all the 'good' seats were taken. The 'good' seats were in the center of the table, where the most elite Slytherins would sit and gossip. Because of this, it was one of the loudest areas in the entire Great Hall. If it was up to her, she would prefer to sit at the edge of the table, as far away as she could get from the ruckus that the elite would make. Unfortunately, like her attending the dinner itself, she usually had to sit with them to keep up appearances. Today, they were too distracted to notice her taking her place at the end of the table.

While Narcissa was largely ignored, it did little to compensate for the fact that the purebloods at the center of the table made significantly more noise than usual. The sound emitted from the Slytherin table by far overshadowed the noise of the other three tables in the room. In fact, she couldn't hear anything outside of the noise from the Slytherins.

As Narcissa listened to what was going on, she realized that the noise wasn't caused by the whole of the table. In fact, the majority of the Slytherins gathered were stunned into silence.

The source of the noise came from Elisa Goyle. She was louder than a banshee as she shrieked and raged at her boyfriend. She screeched insults and profanities at Lucius Malfoy. Elisa was turning red in the face, and was very obviously distressed. She shouted expletives and descriptions of Malfoy, most of which were very unflattering. Malfoy, who was known for his ego and defensiveness of his pride, remained eerily calm stoic. He sat almost peacefully in his seat, delicately slicing into a slice of beef.

"You are so full of it, Lucius! I am sick of this, your stupid pride and even stupider friends!" Elisa yelled. Her face was red. Narcissa wondered idly that if she would prematurely get wrinkles from her creases on the forehead and nose created by contorting her face in such a manor. Before she could form a conclusion, Malfoy spoke.

"You are making a spectacle of yourself." Lucius was absurdly calm, considering his girlfriend was screaming at him at the top of her lungs. He raised the goblet of water to his lips and drank before continuing to finish his meal.

His comment only seemed to further enrage Elisa, who turned from a red to a deep purple. "Is that all you can say? That is absolutely pathetic! You are pathetic!" While she was saying this, she leaned over the table so she could jab him with her index finger. Malfoy's only response was to block her finger with his hand. "Did it ever occur to you that _you _caused this?" She jabbed him once again, connecting her index finger to his palm with viciousness. She was almost screaming, and her words hissed through the air loud enough for the whole of England to hear her.

"You are causing a scene. Calm down and we will discuss this later, after I finish my dinner." Lucius pushed her hand away from him, then picked up his fork and resumed eating.

"You know what, I don't think we will be discussing anything. It's over. We are finished. Don't talk to me anymore." Elisa screamed these words in between sobs, tears dripping down her chin onto the table cloth. She sniffed rather loudly, and used the back of her palm to wipe her nose before she ran out of the room. Aside from the loud BANG that came from the door as she slammed it closed behind her, the entire Great Hall was silent.

Despite Elisa's shameful conduct, Narcissa couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for the girl. Not only because she just broke up with her boyfriend, who was the same boy whom she had claimed just yesterday the love of her life. She pitied her more because anyone worthwhile would not forget her disorderly and unbefitting behavior this evening. She ignored this pity, however. Whatever repercussions that the girl would get, she deserved. She didn't deserve her pity.

She looked back at the group of Slytherins around her. Now that the spectacle had ended, she was able to get a better view of her surroundings. Lucius Malfoy was at the center of the table, in the middle of the elite purebloods. It was a fitting arrangement, because he was among the highest of the elite. On his left sat Evan Rosier, and on his right sat one of the Crabbe boys. Andromeda and Emily Parkinson were across the table from them.

Then Andromeda looked up and saw her little sister, she beckoned her to come sit next to her. She gestured for Narcissa to come to the seat that Elisa Goyle had left. Narcissa briefly considered acting like she didn't see her, and staying where she was already sitting. But when Lucius and Evan Rosier looked up, and noticed Andi waving her hand like a madwoman, they began clearing the things from Elisa's vacated seat.

Sighing, Narcissa supposed that she might as well go. She tapped the boy next to her, saying in her most authoritative voice "Take my plate for me. I am going to sit over there." She pointed to the seat she was moving too.

The boy, whom Narcissa couldn't remember his name to save her life, obliged immediately. He immediately dropped his own fork and picked up her plate and goblet. He walked with sharp movements, trying to move as quickly as possible. He jostled a bit of water out of her cup in his haste, but Narcissa didn't really care. As soon as her things were set down on her new seat, he ran back to his seat and refused to make eye contact with the blonde girl.

Narcissa chuckled a bit at the haste and urgency that the boy showed. She had learned a long time ago that almost everyone will do anything she or her sisters tell them to. This wasn't because of anything that she did herself, but the reputation that Bellatrix left behind. Where there is Bellatrix, there is talk of her fury, her violence, and her rapidly changing mood. While Narcissa was not as prone to violence as Bella is, and Andromeda a very peaceful person, the majority of the students at Hogwarts didn't know that. For the most part everyone is afraid that they would curse or hex anyone that dare tell them no.

"How has your day been?" Andi asked her sister as she settled at the new seat.

"A bit monotonous and mediocre. There isn't much to tell." Narcissa said this quietly, as was her way of speaking. These words coming from anyone else may have sounded rude, but her tone made it so that it was not offensive. They were also sisters, so they could get away with saying things a bit more bluntly than most others would.

Before Andromeda could respond, a snicker interrupted her. "What do you expect? An adventure every day? You do realize that you are at Hogwarts, not one of your books that you always have your nose jammed in. right?" Lucius interjected, gesturing at the young blonde seated across from him with his fork.

_He is just joking, _she thought to herself. _I think. They tease each other like this all the time. I think. _

Narcissa sputtered a bit and looked down at her food awkwardly. She answered quietly, her voice barely audible to Malfoy. "I don't read fantasy books."

"Good, then. Fantasy is for fools, and people who can't adapt to the real world." Lucius kicked his feet up on the table and leaned back in his chair. He started to toss his wand into the air and catch it in his hands, like a baton. "Would be a shame if you were a fool, little Narcissa."

_Good, he was joking. _She blushed and looked down at her plate of food. She ate a bit, which helped her do something other than talk. If she wasn't careful, she would ramble and stammer her way around a conversation. Her mother hated it, and Bellatrix would compare her to the loathsome younger brother of her husband.

"Did either of you finish your potions homework?" Andromeda asked of Evan and Lucius.

Narcissa tuned out, not really looking up from her plate. The conversation no longer required her attention, and no longer interested her. The topic had moved on the discuss people who were older than her that she had never met before, so she couldn't contribute even if she wanted to. Anyways, just sitting there in a large group of people simply stressed her out. She needed to reserve her energy for something that actually mattered. Like the OWLS. The thought gave her another bout of anxiety. She tried to ignore it and eat her food. Unfortunately for her, the topic turned towards the upcoming tests.

"I remember when I took my OWLS. Didn't study, really," Emily Parkinson said with a flick of her hair. "Mum nearly lost her mind when she found out my scores."

"You didn't study?" Narcissa gasped, her voice louder than it usually is. "How- ah- you didn't fail?" She continued, quieting and blushing when she realized her blunder.

"Why would I need to? I am already rich. All of us are, so why study when we have money?"

"Um, yeah… I guess," Narcissa mumbled again, looking away. She ducked her head so that her hair would hide her reddening ears away.

"You would think that the darling daughter of the Black house would be a little better a conversationalist." Evan commented off-handedly. "Didn't either of your sisters teach you how to hold a conversation?"

Narcissa's attention was immediately snapped back to the conversation that was taking place. "What? Oh. I'm just tired. I have been studying all day. Um, yeah," She felt her ears grow red and was grateful that her hair covered them. "OWLS are tomorrow."

"Everyone knows that the tests are going on tomorrow." Evan gave her a patronizing look. "But you really aren't that good at talking to people, tests or otherwise."

"I'm just tired." Narcissa tried her best to keep their suspicions away, but her attempts were futile. All her claims actually did was spur those around her to recall, in surprising detail, specific instances where she wasn't as talkative that they deemed necessary.

"All she needs to do is practice a bit." Lucius said.

"You'd think that she would have practiced," Evan scoffed. "Who would Bellatrix talk to when they are away on breaks, the wall?"

"No she just needs to be trained a bit more. I imagine that Bellatrix's conversations are a bit one sided."

"Yeah? Care to back up your claims?" Rosier crowed, leaning towards Malfoy in anticipation.

"Must I?" Malfoy looked hopelessly bored, and tremendously unimpressed.

"Yes. You are just talk, no proof. So prove it, or I won't believe you." Evan looked smug as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I say that she is awkward, and unsociable, and the facts of the past are on my side."

Narcissa wished that she could curl into a ball, or hide in her room. If she was blushing red before, she wondered what she looked like now. She looked around her from behind her hair.

Lucius seemed to contemplate the situation. Narcissa imagined that he was equally disgusted at the thought of taking his personal time to help a socially inept girl as he was at the thought of insulting his own dignity. Everyone knew that the Malfoy's, really were a lot of talk, but they had the money to back up anything should they need to. But money couldn't really fix his current situation, and no Malfoy would take a blow to their own personal dignity if they could avoid it.

"Fine. Fifty galleons says that by the end of next year, she will be a social butterfly."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 Edited**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance." –George Bernard Shaw **

Narcissa was absolutely speechless. She didn't really know how to feel about being the center of a bet, let alone a social experiment. She looked at Andromeda for help, who only shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. While she tried to hide it, Narcissa could see the slight shaking of her sister's shoulders as she tried to conceal her laughter.

"Next year?" Evan choked out. "Why not this year?"

"Classes finish in a week. I am only a man, not Merlin," Lucius raised his nose a bit higher in the air, his gaze looking down on those around him, daring them to challenge him. "And it would take Merlin's powers to fix her by the end of this year."

"Wow, finally something Lucius Malfoy is not the best at? You scared?" Evan voiced, his own nose going even further upwards. Despite his haughty gaze, he looked surprised that Malfoy even agreed to the bet in the first place, in fact everyone looked stunned.

"No. I am not scared, but I am realistic. I am not a miracle worker, but I can promise this; the little Black girl will be darling of Slytherin house by the end of next year."

Both boys eventually reached an agreement on the terms and specifics of their bet after several more moments of arguing. Satisfied with their deal, and each feeling that the other would surely lose the bet at hand, they nodded at each other. Both Rosier and Malfoy smirked at each other, saying "It's a deal, then," and shook hands.

And that was that, Narcissa supposed.

Later on in life, Narcissa would look back and laugh. She would laugh at her child like belief that all would be just as it appeared to her, and that nothing would evolve. She would laugh at the naivety, in believing that nothing would come from that bet, the bet that changed her life. She would laugh because if she knew just what that bet would change into, she would have ran. She would have ran right out the doors like Elisa Goyle only she would have never stopped until she was as far away from those boys as possible.

Andromeda was no help whatsoever. In fact, she was basically doing nothing but making a god-awful racket as she struggled to control her laughter.

"Knock it off! You are supposed to be the nice, supportive older sister!" Narcissa pleaded pointlessly. "Stop acting like Bella!"

Her words just sent her older sister into another round of giggles. She could have responded, but if she did Narcissa didn't hear her over the sounds of her guffaws.

"It's not funny! It's embarrassing! What would mother say?" Narcissa groaned, and sank further into the seat. She buried her face into the palms of her hands.

Andi nodded frantically before wiping a tear from her eye. "It is funny. It is positively hilarious. And mother is gone, and it is time for you to develop your own ideas without her." She took a deep breath, calming herself. "Did I smudge my makeup?"

"Andromeda! I am serious!" She pulled her hands away from her face, just enough that she was able to peer curiously at her older sister. "And why do you care if your makeup is smudged? You never wear makeup." Narcissa raised her eyebrow. In truth, she didn't really blame her sister for laughing, but she wasn't lying when she said she was embarrassed. Positively mortified is a much better description. She couldn't help but wonder in the back of her mind what would happen if her secret go out. She dismissed this thought, it was too stressful to think about.

She forced her mind to dwell on something that was much less stressful to deal with. Andromeda hated makeup. She didn't like the way it felt on her face or the hassle of having it. She always claimed she didn't have time for makeup, and that she looked better than the girls who bothered with it anyways.

Andi stopped laughing suddenly. She practically stopped breathing. For a few moments she just stared at the small blonde in front of her. Andromeda blinked, and physically jerked herself out of her stunned state and smirked. "Now that would be telling." She sang playfully, batting her lashes.

"Tell me! Are you seeing someone? Who? Do I know him?" Narcissa bounced up and down in her seat.

Andromeda pushed herself suddenly out of her seat towards where her little sister was sitting. Placing her index finger over Narcissa's lips, she hissed out "Shhhhhh! We are not the only ones in here!"

After dinner ended, both of the girls had hastily retreated to their favorite corner in their commons room. In that corner sat two overstuffed armchairs and a small side table in between them. Their location was pushed further away from where most of their housemates would gather- The majority surrounded Malfoy and Rosier next in the center of the room. The Black sisters were separated from this group, but they were by no means secluded.

Luckily for them, the majority of the Slytherins had their attention focused on the two boys. The girls in the room, excluding the Black sisters huddled in the corner, were doing one of two things. The first group of girls surrounded the most elite of the pureblood boys, such as Malfoy and Rosier. Many of these girls were in _very _compromising positions- some of them even went as far as to sit on the boy's lap's or run their fingers through their hair. The second group of girls glared at the first group, half of whom were jealous that they were deemed unworthy to sit with them, or they were disgusted by the way they threw themselves at the boys.

Andromeda glanced nervously around her before fixing a pointed glare at Narcissa. "We aren't going to talk about this now. Not here. I will tell you later." She half hissed, half whispered these words. She removed her finger from her younger sister's lips and sat back in her seat.

Narcissa just nodded at her sister, planning on pestering her for more details as soon as they were alone.

"How is your potions essay going?" Andromeda obviously tried to change the subject. She inspected her nails and picked off the remains of her blue nail polish.

"Easy, as to be expected. Professor Slughorn always gives me O's. It is history of magic that is really a pain. Professor Bins seems to dislike me for whatever reason." Narcissa shrugged her narrow shoulders. "Not that it really matters in the end, he can never find a legitimate reason to dock points off my work."

"Oh, Bins hasn't liked any of the Black's since Bellatrix blew up his office in her third year."

"That makes since, actually. Whenever someone mentions the Voluptua curse he looks particularly nervous." Narcissa nodded and grinned.

"That was Bellatrix?"

Narcissa jumped at the sound of a deep voice from behind her. She looked up to find Lucius's tall figure looming over her. From the other side of the room she received several glares from the girls who were sitting next to him earlier. Their glares were exposing, and embarrassing. She fought the urge to hide behind her hair again.

"Who else would blow up a teacher's office?" Andromeda grinned a bit.

Lucius's hands gripped the back of Narcissa's chair. "Why did she do it?" He started drumming his fingers on the chair, causing Narcissa to lean forward in annoyance. She hated noises that were inconsistent, and he didn't seem to have a particular rhythm in mind as he tapped his fingers behind her.

"She said something about not getting what she deserved as a grade, but we all know that isn't true. She never put much effort in her school work." Andromeda shrugged, then looked down at a book that she had pulled out of her bag. She was obviously done with the conversation.

Narcissa, on the other hand, had begun to develop a slight headache. She knew she lacked her sister's skills to end a conversation. She almost never engaged in conversations to begin with. She just avoided people as much as possible, and usually people never seemed to talk to her that long anyways. The problem was, Lucius seemed to be waiting for her to say something.

Narcissa picked up the nearest book in her bag, hoping that if she ignored him he would just go away. She couldn't just ignore him though, she could hardly pay attention to the words on the page in front of her. She could feel him lean against the back of her chair and could still hear every _thump _of his fingers against the chair.

After a few more moments, it became apparent to Narcissa that the Malfoy boy was not going anywhere anytime soon, at least not without her saying anything. Her inner recluse groaned, but she spoke. He would probably go away at least.

"Can I help you?" She sneered, glaring at the tall blonde looming over her.

Malfoy's grey eyes looked down at her, and his lips quirked up ever so slightly. "I was wondering when you would say something. You have been staring at that single page for the past five minutes. Do you need me to define a word for you? Perhaps you are confused and need some help? Of course you wouldn't be so confused if you looked at the books that were more for your level, like-"

"What do you want? I need to study." Narcissa cut him off, snapping the book shut in her lap and clenching her fists as a way to restrain her from clobbering the annoying boy with the potions book she had taken from the library in the family mansion. It would be terrible, after all, for the old book's binding if she were to hit the boy's remarkably thick head with it.

"Maybe I am bored."

"Then go back to your harem, they are calling for you, you know." Narcissa hissed under her breath.

Lucius looked back to the group of girls she was referring to. They were indeed, calling him. Alice Greengrass beckoned him with her index finger, while Brianna Nott and Arianna Parkinson pouted at the Malfoy heir. Lucius winked at them before returning his attention to the small blonde next to him. "They get boring after a while. It is just too _easy_ with them, no challenge at all."

Narcissa resisted the urge to gag. She blushed and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, there is that signature snarky eye roll that you Blacks are famous for! I knew you had some form of a personality in you," He quietly clapped his hands. "Anyways," Malfoy continued, "I'm not here for that. Meet me in the astronomy towers once you are finished with your tests."

He didn't stay long enough to give Narcissa the time to respond. Later, Narcissa realized that this was probably a good thing, because his flippant words sent her into another minor panic attack at the mention of her O.W.L.S


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 Edited**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**Life is a game. This is your strategy guide." –Oliver Emberton **

Lucius found Narcissa in the library, nestled between two stacks of books. She was so small that one would only notice her if they had purposely gone off in search of her. She knew this, and usually sat there because of it.

"I told you to meet me in the astronomy tower," He snapped. He crossed his arms in annoyance, glaring down at the girl. Narcissa tried not to cower, but it was hard. He was too much like Bellatrix with that expression

Narcissa closed her book, wrapping her arms around it like a security blanket. "I know you did. I never said that I would go," she whimpered, and stared at her feet.

"You were _supposed _to go." Lucius's grey eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh, so I was supposed to go. Pray, tell me, who is the authority behind this command?" Narcissa snapped before she could think about it. Her eyes widened at her mistake, and a sense of fear set in. Tests were stressful, and right now it felt that her emotions were fired as well as her self-control.

Her tests themselves had gone well, she assumed, though she wouldn't know for sure until she got her results back. Yet despite finishing her exams, she was still anxious, maybe even more anxious than she was before she took them. Before she was called for her O.W.L.S she had fully intended to meet Lucius later that day, but by the time she had finished she was too exhausted to put up with his attitude. So she went to the library to finish reading her potions book. She hadn't thought that Lucius would come looking for her.

_"I _told you that _you _were _supposed _to go." He snarled back.

Narcissa cringed back a bit, his tone reminding her again of her eldest sister. Whenever Bellatrix used that tone, it meant that someone or something was about to get broken. She dropped her gaze back down to the floor and whispered, "I am not in the mood."

"I am not going to wait for you be in the mood. If I waited for you to feel like doing something, nothing would get accomplished." He sneered. "The world isn't all happy feelings and butterflies. We are wasting time."

He grabbed her elbow and pulled her to her feet, causing her book to fall to the ground.

"Stop it!" Narcissa tried to pull her arm away, but he was stronger than her. His years of playing Seeker for Slytherin house had toned his muscles far more than Narcissa could ever dream of for herself. "I can walk for myself."

Malfoy scowled at her, but he released anyways. She darted away the few feet that it took to retrieve her book and returned in a matter of seconds. Glancing at Malfoy she frowned when she saw he was frozen from surprise. He didn't think that she would come back once he let her go. Narcissa didn't wait up for him, instead she went and stalked out of the library by herself.

Grumbling to herself, she loaded her book back into her backpack. She had half a mind to go back to her dormitories, where Lucius couldn't follow her. She never agreed to any of this, anyways, so why should she have to put up with their stupid bet? She figured, however, that in the long run, it would probably be better just to go to the astronomy tower and wait for Malfoy. He was already angry that she didn't show up earlier, if she left again she had no doubt that he would break something.

Narcissa looked up when Lucius caught up with her. He was still fuming, and refused to acknowledge her. It sounded like he was muttering insults like "that bitch" or "stupid little girl" under his breath. She chose to act like she couldn't hear him.

The two of them received an odd mixture of looks as they made their way to the astronomy tower. A couple of passing Hufflepuffs whispered, "Who is that? I don't think I have ever seen her before." Some Gryffindors muttered things like "Poor girl," or "Wonder what she ever did to end up with that snake". The Ravenclaw and Slytherin girls they passed looked jealous. Other than that, most of people who noticed anything gave them glares.

Narcissa frowned, irritated that people seemed to think that they were an item. She would be inclined to agree with the Gryffindors, if that were the case. How Elisa Goyle managed to stand him for a staggering two month was beyond her.

Lucius threw open the door to the astronomy tower, and flopped onto the ledge of the window. "I suppose I ought to teach you something." He sighed, kicking his legs up so he was half sitting, and half laying down. "What are your talents? What are you good at?"

Narcissa, who was awkwardly standing by the door, shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not very good at anything, other than reading," she admitted quietly.

"That basically is nothing, not for our purposes. You need to learn some more habits."

"What purposes? And why do I need to learn more habits? I have good habits!" Narcissa was confused, and slightly anxious. She had just finished learning for the year, she just finished her O.W.L.S for crying out loud!

"Let me be perfectly blunt," He replied. Narcissa couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You are a terrible pureblood lady of high society. You don't socialize, you can't hold a decent conversation, and you don't have any friends. I made a bet that you would be the darling of our society by the end of next school year, and I intend to win that bet. You are a good little book worm, you are the highest in your class, but that isn't the most important thing for a person of your lineage. We are going to fix that." Lucius barely looked at her as he said this, opting instead to toss a stolen snitch up in the air and catch it repeatedly. "If you can do this, you will save your family eventual embarrassment from your lack of social abilities."

Narcissa said nothing, knowing that he was right. She still wasn't comfortable with the turn of events, per se, but she knew he was right.

"Your current habits are great when it comes to avoiding people and studying," He continued. "You just need to learn habits pertaining to social interaction. Those habits will eventually turn into talents, and you need those talents to be a proper pureblood lady."

Narcissa frowned to herself. She had half a mind to storm out of the room, hiding her face in shame that anyone would think that there is something wrong with her. She knew that would make the situation worse, and that a lot more people than just Malfoy would begin to speak of her social ineptitude. They were already talking about it. They would talk, and they would find out. If she went along with the bet, she would sacrifice her pride, but maybe she could change her life. No one would find out her secret.

"Fine," she sat down on the window ledge next to him. "Tell me how." She was hopelessly pathetic looking. She looked like she had given up, which in essence, she had.

"I would say that you need to make some friends that aren't your sister, but in order to do that you would have to actually talk to someone first." He moved his legs a bit so she could have a little more space. "I would suggest that you talk to some people who are in your year, preferably in Slytherin, but someone from Ravenclaw would be acceptable as well. You don't have a lot of time to do that this year, but try anyways to talk to someone before you leave for the summer. You can make friends during parties that take place during the break, I suppose."

Narcissa just nodded. Lucius was talking more than she ever heard him talk before, which was saying something. He was a talkative individual by nature, seemingly always needing the attention of the world. The world seemingly was willing to give their attention to the Malfoy heir. Girls, money, media, they all vied for Lucius Malfoy's time.

"I expect you to owl me at least once a week to let me know of your progress." He stood up suddenly, calling over his shoulder as he left, "I really need to go. Someone is waiting for me, and I would hate to keep them waiting. Bye, Narcissa."

He sashayed out of the room. His light golden hair swayed behind him as he sauntered away. Narcissa couldn't help but stare. _His hair looks better than mine. _She thought to herself, patting absentmindedly at her own braid. _And longer. _

Narcissa just sat there for a while, thinking about how strange her life had gotten in the past day. . She stayed up in the astronomy tower instead of going downstairs. She looked out of the window that she was sitting next to, watching the remaining students' mill about hundreds of feet below her.

She knew that it would be good for her in the long run if she were to learn how to be a little more social, but she really didn't want to. Why was it unacceptable for her to prefer books to people? People were silly, and frivolous, and just plain ridiculous at times. She didn't want to be like them, like the other pureblood girls she knew. Andromeda was okay, she supposed, but all the rest were crazy. They were selfish, shallow, obsessive, and just plain mean. She didn't want to be like them. She didn't want to be like the girls last night in the commons room, throwing themselves at anything that even slightly resembled a man. She didn't want the most important thing she ever accomplished in her life to be marrying a wealthy, handsome, pureblood man and having his children. She wanted more for herself.

_Just because you are learning to be a bit more social doesn't mean that you will be like them, _Narcissa thought. _In fact, this could be a good learning experience for you. It would be what mother would have liked. _

Narcissa made it back to the commons room just before curfew. The room was nearly empty, except a tall third year boy who had fallen asleep on the sofa near the fireplace. The little blonde looked at him in disgust as he started to snore rather noisily, but continued to her favorite seat in the back of the room. She pulled out her potions book once again and began to read.

_The monstrumaserum is a powerful, long lasting potion that was created by Carvellos de'Fatum during the Dark Ages. This potion gradually alters the drinker's personality, causing the person to slowly become insane. This potion will also obliviate any previous memories from three hours prior. These memories will be permanently obliviated. This potion is most effective when ingested, but when applied to the skin it may cause headaches and trouble concentrating. If enough is applied to the skin it can cause minor short term memory loss and severe mood swings until it wears off a five weeks later. Use this potion with extreme contact. _

Narcissa looked up from her reading when she heard a portrait swing open to reveal none other than her sister. She scowled at her, about to lecture her about being out past curfew when she noticed Andromeda's appearance.

Andi, was first off blushing, her hair a bit askew despite her attempts to smooth it out. She had a few blades of grass trapped in her messy curls, as well as dirt and grass stains on her uniform. A faint scrape showed just below her the hem of her skirt. All in all, it looked to Narcissa that she had gotten in a fight, but she was _smiling. _

Andromeda looked around the room to see if her entrance had gone unnoticed. She didn't see her little sister in the corner of the room or her startled expression. Once Andi felt the coast was clear she began to creep as quietly as possible toward her dorm.

When Narcissa gave a little cough, Andi nearly fell down the stairs. She was able to catch herself though, and avoided falling on her bum.

"What are you doing here?" Andromeda hissed as she regained her balance. She regarded the stone stairwell with contempt before glaring at Narcissa.

"Reading." Narcissa raised her eyebrow. "What were you doing out in the grass?" She pointed to a particularly noticeable grass stain on her sister's stocking.

"Nothing." Andromeda attempted to sneer at her sister, but she ended up giggling instead.

"Nothing wouldn't have gotten dirt on your robes. Tell me, or I will tell Bellatrix." She knew that Andromeda was hiding something, and that concerned her. Narcissa stood up a bit straighter, hoping that Andromeda wouldn't see through her lie. They never kept secrets from each other. They never needed too, and Narcissa saw no reason that they should start now. But she got the impression that Andi wasn't going to talk without some heavy persuasion.

If left with a choice in the matter, Narcissa would not involve Bella in anything. She was exceedingly harsh, and often times violent. Yet because she was the oldest, she became the lead female figure in their family. When it came down to it, Bella was often times making decisions in regard to her younger sisters. Andromeda and Narcissa would often complain that her control was a bit unjust, being as she was just shy of four years older than them. They never said any of this to their father about this. Since their mother passed away, and their father became increasingly busy with work, they didn't the desire to argue with their family unless things got really out of hand.

"No you won't." Andi smirked. "But I will tell you anyways, I promised to earlier."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Edited**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**Beautiful things happen in the dark, when the sun goes to sleep, when the stars give light kisses, when the moon is a spotlight, life stays beautiful even when you are covered in darkness." –unknown author **

"You have been seeing a _Hufflepuff_? Are you_ serious_?!"

Andromeda just sat there and inspected her perfectly groomed nails, picking at her cuticles. Narcissa was anxiously pacing back and forth in front of her sister, pressing her own nails into the soft skin of her palms. Her face was flushed, her eyes nearly bulging out of her sockets.

"Are you _insane_? Do you want to give Bellatrix another reason to get arrested? This Hufflepuff," she spat, "will be_ slaughtered_ if she finds out!"

"Well she won't find out if you stop screaming," Andi said in a surprisingly calm voice. "If you keep it up, the whole House will know."

"A Hufflepuff!"

Narcissa only hissed this, not because she heard her sister, but because her rant was winding down. Unlike their eldest sister, she rarely raised her voice, and was almost never violent. When she was agitated to the point of yelling, her tantrums usually didn't last very long.

"Yes. A Hufflepuff. We already covered this."

"Please tell me his a Pureblood." Narcissa silently pleaded with whatever divine entity there was that her sister's new love interest wasn't a Mudblood. Maybe Bellatrix would settle for just severely hexing whoever it was as opposed to killing him.

Narcissa's question was met with an awkward silence. Thinking at first that Andromeda didn't hear her question, she repeated herself. Again, a tense quiet was her only response.

A feeling of foreboding flooded Narcissa, causing her to turn completely white. "Is he a half blood?"

Silence again.

"Andromeda..." Narcissa looked like she was about to cry. She mumbled incoherently, trying to find words. Small drops of tears started to roll down her cheeks, and a small sob shook her small frame.

"Shh, Nissa." Andromeda pulled her sister into a hug and rubbed her back. "Don't cry, Nissa."

"Is it serious? Are you in- in-" Narcissa couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. She just gestured in the air surrounding her.

"I wouldn't be telling you right now if I wasn't."

Narcissa's face contorted at this. She pulled the sleeve of her robe down and wiped at her face. "Andromeda, if anyone finds out-"

"They won't. I promise."

"They will eventually. How long are you going to keep this up? Eventually father will want you to marry someone. You can't keep this us for forever."

"I know. I will figure something out. Please keep quiet about this until then."

Narcissa shook her head violently. "You can't figure a way out of this and still be together with him. Not unless you are going to keep him as your- um..."

"I don't think you should finish that sentence, Nissa." Andromeda glared. "And that would never happen. I _will _figure something out, I promise."

Half formed panicked thoughts of her sister being disowned flashed through her mind. Narcissa willed these terrible thoughts to go away, and reminded herself that Andromeda had never been wrong before. She would find a way to work it all out. Or at least that was what Narcissa hoped.

Lucius would not be pleased with Narcissa's "progress".

She was sitting quietly between her two sisters at a welcome home dinner hosted by the Lestrange's. Not Rudolphus and Bellatrix, but the elder Lestrange's. The dinner party was thrown in celebration of yet another successful year of school for the social elite, or at least that is what they were telling people. Everyone really knew that they were trying to marry off their youngest son, Rabastan, to someone they deemed respectable. Narcissa had a suspicion that most of the people who bothered to show up only did so for the food.

Rabastan Lestrange was frail, thin, and sickly looking. On top of that, he had a nervous disposition that made holding a conversation with him difficult. He wasn't particularly bright, and did nothing in the way of hobbies that made him interesting. All in all, any respectable Pureblood lady would run as quickly as possible in the opposite direction if marriage with him was brought up.

His parents, Giovanni and Leonna Lestrange, unfortunately refused to acknowledge their youngest son's inadequacies. How they managed to overlook this was beyond Narcissa's comprehension, but the little gatherings continued in their efforts to pressure someone into marrying their poor excuse for a Pureblood.

Narcissa shuffled in her seat a bit, trying to avoid Lucius Malfoy's pointed look in her direction. A few times someone had addressed a statement towards her, providing her an opportunity to start a conversation, and potentially make a friend. Each time, however, Narcissa mumbled something in response and they eventually left.

Lucius was not the only one who was annoyed with the youngest Black's behavior. Bellatrix had jabbed Narcissa's ribs with her elbow at least three times, before eventually hissing under her breath, "Get your act together or I will convince father to marry you off to that sop!" She pointed the end of her curved wand at Rabastan, who had just spilled the contents of his goblet down his front.

Bellatrix smirked at the look of horror that contorted Narcissa's face. She was beautiful, but in a harsh, exaggerated way. Narcissa supposed that her appearance somewhat matched her personality, if one were to exclude beauty.

"You wouldn't do that. He is your brother-in-law. That would be a bit awkward, don't you think." Narcissa, even though she knew the words were true, couldn't quite put the force behind the words that she wanted to.

Bella's smirk just grew wider. She didn't respond to her little sister at that moment because he husband chose that moment to whisper something in her ear that caused her to laugh.

Narcissa did her best not to blush, but her sister was far too flamboyant about her relationship at times. She and Rudolphus were loud, blunt, and hopeless flirts. When they weren't feeling each other up, they were cursing each other into oblivion. At the moment Narcissa felt that they were engaging in the former, if the wicked grins on their faces were any indication.

"Welcome, everyone!" A voice boomed over the din of the chattering dinner guests.

The hostess stood up, tapping her knife to her glass delicately to get the room's attention. Leonna Lestrange was tall, stately, and intimidating. She had a full, nearly overweight figure, completely opposite of that of her youngest son's. Her long black hair was pulled sharply from her face, making her features seem all the more round. Her voice carried well, though more deep and raspy than that of the average lady's.

"Today, we are gathered to welcome our beloved children home from yet another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Thus began Leona Lestrange's long and drawn out speech.

Andromeda and Bellatrix both snorted at the pompous woman standing before her guests. Narcissa just sighed and did her best to look like she was paying attention. Mrs. Lestrange's welcome home speech included ramblings about her own golden days at school, how she met her 'true love'. She finally concluded with a long tirade about how they, the Purebloods and the role models for society, must band together and stay close amidst these troubled and turbulent times.

All three of the Black sisters rolled their eyes, each one smirking at the pure ridiculousness of their hostess.

Once the tiresome speech was finished, guests were invited to mingle about the grounds. The weather was fairly nice that night, so most of the guests congregated in the gardens. There were several benches arranged carefully on the various pathways that lead to different gardens. Small tea lights hovered above the paths, casting a soft and subtle glow over their surroundings. Many people began to dance in the glow, as a small quartet softly played on the patio.

Narcissa was forced to admit that the effect was gorgeous. Despite whatever defects the Mrs. Lestrange had, she did know how to decorate. Or at least she knew how to hire someone to do it for her.

"I thought that you were going to try to be a bit more sociable?"

Narcissa started a bit at the sudden interruption. She started to stammer out a reply when Malfoy held up his hand in gesture for her to stop.

Lucius was sitting on one of the benches. He was watching the dancers, but his gaze flicked to look at Narcissa from the corner of his eye. "You could have attempted, at the very least. Hell, my deceased grandmother would have done better," he snickered to himself a bit, but Narcissa had the impression that he wasn't joking.

Narcissa just frowned and ducked her head a bit. She refused to acknowledge someone who was ruining a perfectly lovely evening. She had managed to avoid conversation with Mrs. Lestrange, something that Malfoy surely wouldn't disapprove of. She knew that if Leonna Lestrange were to find her and drag her into a conversation, she would have to spend an ungodly amount of time hearing about how great Rabastan is, and how they may be able to get along so well. Truthfully, each time any mention of her and Rabastan together was brought up, Narcissa had the urge to plunge an expensive sliver encrusted knife into her throat.

So, to prevent herself from doing such, she found a fairly secluded area of the gardens, intending to stay there for the duration of the party. Here, she was able to stay away from the loud mass of people as well as the Lady Lestrange.

"I said that I was going to try. I never said when. I will get to it later." Narcissa said quietly.

Malfoy sighed dramatically, "Seems that you won't get anything done without me." He thrust his hand towards her.

"What do you mean?" She eyed the offered hand with caution.

"I am going to introduce you to some people. Frankly, you are hopeless at it."

"I already know most of the people here."

Malfoy didn't answer her. He shot her a look that made her stop complaining and just follow his lead. At least she didn't have to go and fight her way through a conversation alone.

An hour later, Lucius was satisfied with Narcissa's progress. She had met several of Lucius's friends and some girls that were in her year, including a couple of girls who attended Beauxbatons. One of the girls, Sabine Laurendeau, actually seemed pleasant enough to Narcissa. They talked for a considerable amount of time before parting, promising to owl each other over the summer.

Narcissa was starting to feel that she was having a good time. Lucius made sure that a decent, but not overwhelming amount of attention was directed at her. She was conscious that he was watching her as she interacted with various guests. She didn't want to be reprimanded for her stuttering or any blunders that she may commit while he was there. Because of this careful consideration on her part, she was spoke more clearly and carefully. Lucius would take her around to various associates of his, she would make a bit of small talk, he would wrap up the conversation and then they would move on to the next person. Once Narcissa got the hang of this pattern, she found that she was less anxious and actually enjoying herself for once. That was, until the hostess found her.

"There you are, Narcissa! I was just telling Bellatrix how nicely you have grown." Leonna Lestrange said, pulling her fingers through the blonde's hair. Behind her, Bellatrix was making a gaging motion. "How lucky you are, to become so beautiful at so young of an age. Not all of us are blessed that way! Good thing that one's aesthetic appeal is not the most important aspect in our society. One's blood status if infinitely more important, wouldn't you agree, Narcissa dear?"

Narcissa was close enough to Malfoy to hear the stifled groan of annoyance. She glanced at him. He was smirking, but other than that he showed no indication that he was irritated with the hostess.

"Oh, ah, of course." Narcissa said as diplomatically as possible. She carefully distanced herself from the Lady Lestrange to keep her hair in the perfect order that it was in before the hostess got her hands on it. "Purity is the most important thing that there is."

"Glad to hear." Mrs. Lestrange smirked. "Rabastan, dear, why don't you come say hello to Narcissa?"

Narcissa scowled at Bellatrix, who had a hand covering her mouth to stifle her laughs. Rabastan had changed out of the clothes that he had spilled wine all over, so he didn't look so nearly as pathetic as he could. He was perpetually crooked, it seemed, from his time spent hunched over in a corner acting like he didn't exist. Even with that being said, he still towered over most people. His complexion was pale like nearly all of the purebloods, but his had a more yellow tint. He was dreadfully thin. In all actuality, he resembled more of a twig than anything else. To make things even worse, he had a perpetual stutter, a shocking ignorance of manners, and was slow witted.

To sum up the situation, Narcissa would prefer to engage in a conversation with a dementor than with Rabastan Lestrange. Despite her feelings on the matter, for as long as she could remember their parents had put them together as often as possible.

As she grew older, she realized that the two families had hoped to join their children together in holy matrimony to further their fortunes and power. Despite Rudolphus and Bellatrix getting married, Leonna Lestrange pushed for a union between her youngest and Narcissa.

"H-he-llo, Miss Bl-b-black." Rabastan stammered. He refused to make eye contact, preferring to stare at his shuffling feet.

"Good evening." Narcissa nodded curtly, looking equally awkward. She held her chin up higher in an effort to appear more comfortable than she actually was. When she noticed Malfoy's amused expression, however, she lowered her chin again.

"Good," Lady Lestrange nodded to herself and left to go talk the ears off of the Parkinson twins.

After a few moments, no one had spoken. This suited Narcissa fine, knowing that the awkwardness of silence was nothing compared to the awkwardness of conversations with Rabastan. Unfortunately, Lucius gently elbowed her ribs and nodded at him. Narcissa sighed in resignation.

"How have your classes been this year, Rabastan?" Narcissa asked, shooting an annoyed look at the Malfoy heir.

"G-g-ood-d, I g-guess," Rabastan scratched his ear and looked down at his feet.

"G-good-d y-y-ouu g-g-uess? H-how pa-pa-pathet-t-ic c-can y-you b-b-be?" Bellatrix mocked, twitching her shoulders between every stutter. She nearly knocked herself to the ground with this movement, but she managed to clumsily collect herself before hitting the gravel. "And you call yourself a Lestrange!"

Malfoy began to chuckle.

"Bella," Narcissa warned.

"No, Cissy. He is a filthy squib parading around as one of us. His mother is a stupid whore who should be ashamed that she ever birthed anything so absolutely pathetic. He isn't even a Lestrange!" Bellatrix yelled while waving her arms for extra emphasis.

"Wh-what do y-you mean-n?" Rabastan demanded, his face flushing as he straightened up a bit more.

"I-I mean-n t-that y-our-r mummy d-dear-rest-t," Bella jabbed his chest with her index finger, "couldn't keep her legs shut and let some filthy mud-blood knock her up." She hissed out these words in a soft, mocking tone. Only Rabastan, Narcissa and Malfoy could hear her speak.

"Bella... Are you drunk?" Narcissa pulled her older sister's arm a bit, surprised that she swayed a bit precariously from the motion.

Lucius broke into full laughter. This laughter only increased when Narcissa shot the darkest look she could muster at him.

"Course she is." Rudolphus grabbed his wife's other arm. Andromeda walked up, seeing what all the commotion was about.

"Can you take her away before she does something completely foolish?" Andi said. Despite her words, she was laughing behind her gloved hand.

"Yeah," Rudolphus nodded. "Come on Bells, time to go."

Lucius was unable to contain his laughter as he watched Rudolphus lead his drunken wife away. Rudolphus had to pull away Bella's wand after she _incendo'd_ a nearby planter, nearly setting Goyle's rather large wife on fire. This caused Bella to laugh uncontrollably at the "pudgy, pumpkin of a bore," as she so called her.

"She is never gonna live this down!" Lucius exclaimed, dramatically clutching at his sides. "I knew coming would be worth my time."

"Is that the only reason you would come?" Narcissa asked. She felt a small twinge of sadness as she thought about this, though she couldn't fathom why. He was arrogant and egotistical. It would make sense for him to show up to things like this just for his own amusement.

"Sure. These parties would be boring if someone didn't get drunk and make a complete fool of themselves. So long as you aren't the fool, it is very entertaining."

"Oh," Her face fell, and she fought back blushing.

Lucius's expression softened. "Well, I guess not the only reason I come. Tell me, Cissa, how good are you at dancing?"

"Um, well, fairly decent." Narcissa frowned a bit. She shuffled her feet a bit before looking up at him. "Must I dance though?"

"Yes. Consider it as part of your lessons." He smirked as he took her hand and pulled her with him to where the other dancers swayed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 Edited **

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**Black is such a happy color." –Morticia Addams from the Addams Family movies**

"Is that a skull?" Narcissa asked, pointing at the object on the fireplace mantle. The pearly white of the skull contrasted greatly against the darkness of the room. It practically glowed against the dark stained mantle and the grey wallpapered walls.

"Looks like it," Andromeda replied as she made herself comfortable on the black velvet settee. She tossed a red damask cushion out of her way and threw herself onto her side. It didn't look terribly comfortable.

"Is it a human skull, though?" Narcissa stepped closer to get a closer look. A bell jar protected the skull from the elements, though why it would need to be protected in the house of one of the darkest and the oldest Wizarding families in Great Britain was beyond her. It could have possibly been to protect it from the dust that seemed to cover almost everything in the flat.

"Knowing Bella, that is a definite possibility. Could even be an old family friend or great aunt for all we know." Andi shrugged and patted that her knees were resting on. "Just relax. No need to freak out about it."

Narcissa shuddered, backing away from the object in question. "That is positively morbid." She sat down carefully next to her sister, leaning back on an emerald green pillow.

Andromeda shrugged her narrow shoulders. "That is Bella for you. Actually, that is the whole of the Lestrange clan in general. As long as it- or anything else in the house, for that matter- isn't cursed, we should be okay. Just be sure to not touch anything that looks dark and questionable."

"Which is basically everything in the house, unfortunately." Narcissa warily eyed a dagger on the table that was rusted and stained. She shuddered to think what had stained it.

"Oh please, a little curse won't hurt you," Bellatrix sauntered into her drawing room, her grey skirt swirling around her ankles. She stopped for a moment with a thoughtful expression on her face. She added a mumbled "Not that much at least" before continuing towards her sisters.

Narcissa squeaked and wrapped her arms around her narrow frame. She looked around the room as if something were to bite her or curse her at any moment. She was used to dark magic and cursed objects being around, but usually they were more tactfully and tastefully displayed. In fact, rarely are dark artifacts so carelessly left around. It was a blatantly crass display of the dark arts. Yet Bellatrix was neither tactful nor really tasteful in the traditional sense, the decorating of her home portrayed that.

Andromeda and Narcissa were staying with their older sister and her husband for the next week while their father was attending to business in Moscow. Narcissa was never very fond of Moscow, really. In Russia, dark magic went unchecked, unlike Britain. Because of this, there was almost always a dark oppressive feeling in the air, much like mold or mildew in a decaying home. On top of this, the weather was far too cold and snowy for her liking.

So she and Andromeda opted to stay with Bella and Rudolphus in their flat near Diagon Alley. The flat was smack dab in the center of a complex designed specifically for the use of the elite wizards and witches of London, though you wouldn't think that seeing the home of the younger Lestrange's. In addition the skull perched on the mantelpiece, there were several other dark additions to the abode. A shimmering sword crafted from ice was hung on the wall, with drips of red on the hilt. Surrounding it were several sharp and jagged knifes. A black snake was coiled on top of a book entitled "Nearly Unforgiveable Curses: A Truly Dark Wizards Encyclopedia."

The bedroom that Narcissa was to stay in boasted nothing of the dark paraphernalia that was scattered around the rest of the home. In fact, the room's décor was entirely different than that of the rest of the flat. The room was decorated in soft greys and creams, instead of the black and emeralds that dominated the rest of the place. Light flooded the room through sheer curtains, instead of the thick blackout curtains that shrouded the rest of the house in darkness. In general, the room was so unlike the rest of the house that Narcissa believed that it must have been designed by someone other than her sister. Upon consideration, Narcissa decided that Leona Lestrange must have decided this room's appearance.

"I already put everything that would immediately kill you off in the linen closet," Bellatrix continued, oblivious to the shocked and slightly frightened looks she received from her younger sisters. "'Cept maybe the hemlock. I think that is still in the cupboard. And that bloody snake is still out. Oh well. Almost everything is in the linen closet. Just don't go into the linen closet, you oughta be fine then. And watch out for Snakey. He bites sometimes."

Bella threw herself into a chair, swinging her legs over one of the arms and leaning against the other. She picked at a small crusting of something that was suspiciously deep red caked on the wooden lining on her seat, then flicked the substance from her fingernails. "I suppose that the polite and lady-like thing to do is to ask how you 'ave both been, then."

"Yes, that sounds about right." Andromeda commented wryly, watching as Bella began to pick at her cuticles in a very unladylike way. "As it would also be polite for us to inquire to your well-being, and comment on something of the house that strikes our fancy. It would also be proper for us to gossip about how Acacia Bulstrode engaged in the most atrocious affair with a muggle born that has rendered her quite pregnant."

"How dreadfully boring. Well, seeing as I am not polite if I can help it, I will just get to the main point. Cissy, love, what exactly is the status of your current situation with a certain Malfoy heir?" Bella flicked her unkempt hair back as she eagerly leaned shifted her weight to better see her youngest sisters reaction.

"W-what situation?" Narcissa stammered, looking alarmed. "He- I- he- we aren't-" She trailed off and shrugged her shoulders in explanation.

"No, silly. Of course you aren't. Bloody hell no! Don't be so daft, Narcissa. And stop stuttering so. You sound like that dreadful Rabastan." Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "I was speaking of that little bet that he made."

"Oh that." Narcissa blushed. "I am not sure. He told me that I need to be more sociable. Make friends and such."

"Well I think this whole scheme is bloody brilliant either way," She didn't say this with a positive tone. "Why didn't I think of it before?" Bella gestured wildly in the air to make her point. She seemed to be pouting at the idea that someone thought of something before her, and even more annoyed that she had to acknowledge that it was actually a good idea.

"What, socially exploiting your youngest sister and airing our family's dirty laundry before everyone at school. Possibly making her a social pariah and undesirable to everyone who may be important." Andromeda snorted as she rolled her eyes.

"No, idiot, having someone give her lessons!" Bella stuck her tongue out at Andi. "Anyways, I want to talk to talk to Cissy baby alone." Narcissa sighed inwardly at the nickname. Only Bella still called her that, and she did so in a patronizing manor.

If Narcissa's memory served right, one on one talks with Bella usually were unpleasant. At one moment all could be going well and fine, but the next she could fly into a violent rage. She still had thin scars on her arms and palms from the time that Bella shoved her out of the music room window. Yet at the same time, she could be fun, energetic, and the ideal older sister. There was literally no in between, and little indication of which way she would behave.

"Well I don't see what the big deal is. You and Andi have both already given me lessons. And Auntie. And mum when she was alive. Even Sirius gave it a shot." Narcissa mumbled.

"Someone outside of the family!" Bella rolled her eyes, swinging her legs around the arm of her chair. "Obviously it didn't work when we tried to intervene. But by having someone else give you lessons you are going to have to try harder. Everyone is going to notice, the school, society, and especially Lucius. He will exploit anything that he finds to be of importance to the rest of the world, if it strikes his fancy, so you will have proper initiative. And anyways, if you impress him enough, we may not have to worry about arranging a proper husband for you." She said flippantly, while twirling a piece of hair around her fingers. She chuckled to herself and wagged her eyebrows suggestively.

"A husband?!" Narcissa chocked out. She felt light headed at the mention of marriage. Who her marriage would be too mattered little at this point. She just finished her OWLS, right? She didn't need to worry about marriage for at least a couple years or so.

"Well, yes, of course. Don't tell me you are shocked, Cissy baby. It's bound to happen to all of us at some point. I mean, look at me! And I'm not even the marriageable type." She gestured at herself then to a picture of her and Rudolphus on the bookshelf.

"Yes, but so soon?"

"Duh. You are going into your sixth year. I was engaged by my seventh year." Bella twisted the ring around her finger.

"But Andi isn't even seeing anyone right now." _Well, not anyone that we know or could say would last, _She thought.

"That's in the process of being worked out. There are a couple of suitable purebloods that are interested. Well, suitable may be a stretch, but they are technically acceptable." She shrugged her pale shoulders, the lace on her shoulders slid down indecently to the tops of her breasts. "Anyways, I don't see why you are so worked up about marriage. Your shortfalls aside, you would make a nice and proper wife someday. And I am not the only one who has noticed. There are a few who certainly seem interested, and there are definitely going to be a few more once your chest develops a bit more."

"Bella!" She crossed her arms around her front. But she smiled anyways. "Did I detect a thinly veiled compliment?"

Bella leaned over and uncrossed her younger sister's arms. "Yes, I am known to compliment people on occasion. And don't you be acting so innocent. You know that it is true."

"I would like to be innocent. I like to think that I am innocent. I was innocent until you started dating Rudolphus, and you would make your relationship quite public. But other than that, I am innocent." Narcissa managed to stutter out.

"Bah, how's you supposed to get yourself anyone fun being innocent. You will end up with a bore of a husband. He would probably be fat and stupid and ugly." Bella drawled in between giggles. "Or Rabastan, which would be worse than death."

Cissa shuddered, a little, just to satisfy her sister. To Bellatrix, of course having a boring and fat partner would be a fate worse than death. She didn't even bother to think of the horror that was Rabastan Lestrange.

"That would be a shame too, if such a thing would happen." Bella leaned in towards Narcissa, so close that she could feel her oldest sister's hair tickling her cheekbones. Then she whispered conspiratorially. "I heard that there is someone quite interested in you, and he ain't too shoddy himself. Tall, fabulous hair, lovely complexion, and a filthy rich family. A family who thinks you will be quite perfect to carry on their fantastic looks and heritage, or some rubbish like that." Bellatrix suddenly flopped herself back into her chair with a huff.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Cissa demanded, glaring at Bella. She folded her arms again across her chest.

"Oh, nothing. I didn't say anything." Bella winked mischievously. "Now, I have some errands to run. I think that it may be a good idea for you to come. Housewife things and such important matters that you ought to know."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 Edited **

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**Strike a glass, and it will not endure an instant; simply do not strike it, and it will endure a thousand years." G.K. Chesterton **

Narcissa was fairly certain that only Bellatrix would think that Knockturn Alley would be a good place to run errands. Proper housewife-type errands, as Bella was so fond of saying, nonetheless. Narcissa never was really fond of shopping in general, especially not at Knockturn Alley. Not that Bella let Narcissa do much on their little shopping excursion anyways, she just stood there as Bella ohh'ed and ahh'ed over various objects.

Where Narcissa was careful as they walked through Borgin and Burkes, knowing that everything there was cursed in some manor or another. Bellatrix was the complete opposite, feeling the need to touch and hold everything she could get her hands on. From the charmed katanas hanging from the wall to the tiny ring with a poisoned tipped needle that would appear when one would twist the jewel decoration, all had been grabbed by Narcissa's oldest sister. The store assistant seemed too intimidated to say anything to get her to stop, so Cissa was the one who kept Bella from testing out the poisoned ring.

"Well how am I supposed to know that this is actually effective if I can't try it out on something?" Bellatrix demanded of the small quaking assistant. "I'm not going to buy something if I don't know it's going to work." She slammed the ring back onto the glass counter. She looked into the case for a moment before demanding "that one. I want to see that one." She jabbed her knobby index finger at a silver compact that was nestled between folds of velvet under the glass.

The assistant physically flinched at these words. "I can't let you!" She stammered. She was as thin as a twig and seemed to have a permanent tremor.

_You would think, _Narcissa thought, _that she would have a bit more of a backbone, working at a shop that is infamous for selling dark objects. _

"Why not?" Bella pouted, twirling her wand around a ringlet of her hair. Despite her girlish movement, her glare was dark and calculating. Narcissa could sense that if Bella didn't get her way soon, she would throw a tantrum.

"Someone else already bought it. It's on reserve until they come pick it up." The assistant put her hands up in a gesture of apology.

"Can't I just see it?" Bella looked more irritated by the moment. Her foot began to tap against the wooden floor, a steady _click, click, click, _as her heels met the ground. Her lips were pressed together, no longer jutting out in a pout. She was scowling, which was never a good sign.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." A new voice said. The bell chimed behind her, alerting the assistant of her presence if she hadn't noticed her yet. She was tall, with midnight blue hair and sallow skin. Her eyes were unnerving, and they sent a chill to through Narcissa's very bones. Where black pupils were supposed to be, her eyes were white and the rest of the eye was a deep black. "I am here to retrieve my compact."

If the assistant was frightened of Bellatrix, she was downright terrified of this new woman. She didn't say anything as she quickly dropped to retrieve the silver compact, nearly shattering the glass enclosure with she shaking hand. As she extended her arm to hand the woman her compact, the silver object fell from her rattling fingers onto the counter. It landed on its hatch, causing the compact to open so that the mirror was facing the attendant.

A small shriek came from her narrow lips as a thin silver mist rose from the compact. The assistant attempted to run from it, but was blocked by the strange lady.

"Careful," the woman hissed, sounding much more like a snake than anything else. "That compact which you have so poorly handled is worth more than your life."

The assistant started to sob, fighting against the woman in her attempts to escape. "Make it stop! Make it stop!" she screamed as the mist began to surround her. The mist seeped into her skin, her mouth, her nose, and her ears. It tried to enter her in any way possible. The girl's screams died down and began to convulse violently, her eyes draining of their brown color to white before they rolled into the back of her head.

"Bella..." Narcissa whispered, horrified. "Bella... do something." She attempted to step forward to help the girl but was jerked backwards by her older sister.

"Leave it alone. It is best if we do not get involved." Bella hissed. She jerked Narcissa back once more, and kept her grip on her arm. She lead her out of the store, all the while Narcissa could feel the circulation in her arm declining.

Bellatrix dragged Narcissa by the arm as quickly as she could, her fingernails digging into her skin through the fabric of her dress sleeve. She didn't verbally protest, knowing it would get her nowhere, but she attempted to twist her arm so her grip would loosen. If anything, it made Bella hold her arm tighter.

As Narcissa was pulled out of the store, she looked back over her shoulder. The assistant was slumped on the floor, folds of skin visible on her arms and neck. Her face was wrinkled, her eyes wide open and sunken into their sockets. The strange lady stood over her, holding her compact towards her face. The mist that once had seeped into the assistant's body was now leaving her, in a golden haze. That haze clung to the strange lady, swirling her in a golden tornado. The woman had her eyes closed and a grin covering her face. When the golden cloud dissipated, the woman opened her eyes. They had changed from their unnerving black and white to a soft warm brown.

Narcissa gasped, even though she wanted to scream. With her free hand she dug her fingernails into her palm, trying to calm herself down. She could feel the hysteria bubbling in her being.

"Stop looking!" Bella hissed, walking faster down the alley. Narcissa tore her gaze from the scene in Borgin and Burkes as she stumbled over a piece of stray cobblestone. "Just keep going. We need to move quickly."

And even though they moved quickly through the street, Narcissa couldn't mentally move on. All she could see is the eyes of the strange woman, the woman whose eyes had turned the same brown as the assistant's. The assistant who was now crumpled on the floor in the dusty shop, aged far beyond what she looked like when Narcissa had first entered the store.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 Edited **

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming. At night everything is more intense, more true. The echo of words that have been spoken during the day takes on a new and deeper meaning." –Elie Wiesel **

Narcissa stared at her bowl of chocolate ice cream. She swirled her spoon through the streaks of fudge, trying not to think. It didn't work. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the scene that had taken place in Borgin and Burkes. The eyes of the woman and the assistant were all that she could focus on. She had no appetite, in fact the thought of eating made her want to vomit. She didn't feel like she could catch her breath, though she knew she was breathing fine, if not a bit rapidly. Narcissa was hyperventilating, and she knew it.

Bellatrix had no such qualms, rapidly devouring her own ice cream, ordering another, then moving on to Narcissa's. How Bella managed to avoid making a mess of herself was unfathomable. Her hair was still intricately pinned back from her face, and her robes uncreased and unstained. Even if someone were to notice them back in the corner of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, she doubted anyone would dare say anything. If people were scared to upset Andromeda and Narcissa simply because they were Bellatrix's sisters, they would never so much dare to look at Bella the wrong way.

"Now, Cissy baby, listen to me." Bella said with an air of grandiosity. She pushed the bowls away from her as she crossed her arms and leaned to rest on the table. "You didn't see anything today. We just had a grand time shopping in Diagon Alley. You got some pretty new robes, a few new books, and a bit of ice cream. I got a bit of shopping done for the house. Do you understand?"

"In short, you don't want me to tell anyone what happened." Narcissa whispered, forcing the words out the best she could. She still couldn't catch her breath and that made it hard to do anything. "Why?"

"Because I said." Bella put extra emphasis on the word I. She raised an eyebrow, daring Narcissa to disagree with her.

"I don't even really know what happened." Narcissa tentatively looked at her sister, she watched as Bellatrix's hooded eyes hardened beneath her gaze. It was a look she knew well. It meant that her temper was beginning to flare, and that she needed to be cautious with what she does next.

"You don't need to. You just need to stay quiet." She said tightly through gritted teeth, narrowing her eyes at her younger sister seated across from her. Bella's arms tightened across her chest. Narcissa guessed that if she had been standing up her hands would have been on her hips. Her moods swung quickly, and Narcissa would not want to be in her way if she happened to become violent.

"But you know what happened." Narcissa raised her eyebrow, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.

"Yes." Bella hissed, looking more irritated by the moment.

"Can you tell me?" Narcissa begged, trying to pout knowing it would occasionally work on people. She doubted it would work on Bella, who had very little regard for how people felt in any situation. Still, she attempted it knowing she had nothing else that could convince her. She tried to feel calm and confident as she spoke, but she couldn't keep the tremor from her voice.

"No." Bella was predictably completely unaffected by her youngest sisters pout.

"Please." Narcissa's voice cracked a little. The thought that she couldn't speak to anyone about something that frightened her was almost too much for her. She knew Bella didn't want to talk about it, but Narcissa needed to talk about it. To anyone, to someone, at least one person.

"No. Stop asking." Bellatrix growled, leaning closer on the table. She rolled her eyes upwards.

Narcissa quieted down, ducking her head in between her crossed arms that were resting on the table. The tightness returned to her lungs, her breathing becoming frantic, and her heartbeat increased. She tried as hard as she could, but salty tears found their way through her tightly squeezed eyelids. "Can I at least tell Andi?"

Without warning, Narcissa's skull smacked against the table. She felt a metallic tang on the back of her tongue and blood beginning to trickle from her nose. She lifted her head, and pressed her hand to her nose, glaring through her tears at Bellatrix.

"I said stop asking." Bella said nonchalantly. She tapped her fingers against the metal table, raising her eyebrow at Narcissa.

Narcissa rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand and reaching for a napkin with the other. She didn't say anything else to her sister, who was brooding away at the opposite side of the table. Bella had obviously lapsed into one of her foul moods, and there was no point in trying to reason or talk sense into her when this happened. Well, Bellatrix couldn't really be reasoned with at any time to begin with. She never did anything that she would regret anyways.

There was a tense quiet for a few minutes. She could still see that Bella was upset, and would continue to be upset until she was distracted. As much as Narcissa wanted to know what happened, she didn't want to press further and end up with something worse than a bloody nose. So she dropped the subject, deciding to switch to a safer topic. "Have you heard from father lately?" She pinched the napkin to her nose tightly, trying her best to not speak through her nose.

"Yes," Bellatrix said primly, still looking a little irritated, but trying to restrain herself. "Business in Moscow..." She trailed off, twirling her hair and looking into the distance, grasping for words. "Business in Moscow, isn't exactly going as planned."

Narcissa knew there was something she wasn't saying, but seeing as she still had a bleeding nose from the last time she pressed for information that Bella didn't want to give, didn't say anything more. "So is he going to take longer to get home?"

"No. He is coming back early." Bellatrix replied. "He will be back sometime later this week." She looked at the pocket watch she kept in her robes. "We should get back. The longer we are gone, the more questions that will be asked."

Narcissa nodded, standing up on shaking legs and trailing her sister out of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and into a packed Diagon Alley. Bella grabbed onto Narcissa's arm tightly and Apparited.

Bile rose up in Narcissa's throat, and a temporary loss of equilibrium nearly sent her falling to the pavement. Luckily for her, Bella still had her vice like grip on her arm. Even though she was prevented from falling, Bellatrix's nails dug into her skin, leaving bleeding crescent shapes on her arm.

They were at the Apparition point just outside the gates to the complex that the Lestrange's flat was located in. Bellatrix yanked Narcissa to her feet and briskly walked inside the massive wrought iron barrier, practically dragging her younger sister with her. Narcissa followed as carefully as she could, to avoid further bodily damage to herself.

"What, we couldn't walk here?" Narcissa scoffed, trying to regain her balance and completely failing to do so. "We were only a few blocks away." _And Merlin knows you need the exercise after eating all that ice cream, _she thought bitterly.

"We need to be quick!" She hissed back. "And I don't need the exercise!"

"I didn't say you did!" Narcissa replied, now trying to pull her sister's hand off of her arm.

"It's the thought that counts, Cissy baby." Bellatrix snapped back, letting go of her sister suddenly.

Narcissa fell to the ground, smacking her hands against the pavement to prevent her head from smashing into the concrete. This movement skinned her palms as well as her knees, also tearing up her stockings and the gloves she was wearing. Bellatrix didn't even bother looking back at her. She maintained her pace towards the building, leaving Narcissa to run to catch up.

Narcissa pounded on the black door in front of her. She was glad she had the slip of paper with her sister and her brother-in-law's address on it, or else she would have probably not found the specific apartment in the complex. Not that was really turning out to mean anything. The door only opened from the outside for the owners of the house, and whoever had a key. Since Narcissa was neither owner of home or key, she couldn't get in. She had taken to pounding her fists against the dark ebony wood, but no one came.

"Gah!" Narcissa finally exclaimed. "Stupid, psychopathic, narcissistic, selfish, rude, git of a sister!"

She turned and sat against the front door of the house, pulling her knees against her chest. She continued to grumble and gripe about her insane sister. Her complaints were not going to change the situation, but it felt good to rant for a bit. A few minutes elapsed before she was startled by a small click of the door.

"I sure do hope you aren't talking about me." Andi said, letting go of the doorknob and helping Narcissa to her feet.

"Where is Bella?" Narcissa hissed between her gritted teeth. She dusted herself of any dust she may have accumulated while sitting on the ground.

"She and Rudolphus are having a shouting match in their room. Something about him being a stupid shitface, and how something is all his fault. You know, the usual. I can't believe you, I will make you pay for it, you will someday wake up in a puddle of your own blood, etcetera, etcetera. Then all the yelling was abruptly cut off, and replaced with sounds that I will not repeat for you." Andromeda, shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "Anyways, you look like hell. Did you fall down the stairs or something?"

"Or something." Narcissa chewed on her lip, trying to shrug it off.

"Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to start guessing?"

"Erm, well," Narcissa squirmed under the questioning gaze she was receiving from Andromeda. "I, I can't exactly, um, tell you."

"What do you mean?" Andromeda demanded, leading her to sit on the couch with her. "Of course you can. You know you always can."

Narcissa paused, considering bringing Andromeda in on the secret of what happened, even if it would invoke the wrath of Bellatrix. Maybe she wouldn't even find out. Andi had never betrayed her trust, and Bella knew it. So why not?

"Narcissa!" Bellatrix's voice snapped from the other room. "Come here!"

Reluctantly, Narcissa pulled away from Andromeda, shooting her an apologetic look. She quietly walked into the kitchen where Bella was waiting for her. Bellatrix was sitting on the counter, flicking a switchblade back and forth, slicing the air in front of her. She had barely walked into the room when Bella began to speak. "Are you going to tell Andromeda?" She asked nonchalantly.

"No," Narcissa whispered, eyeing the blade in her sister's hand warily.

"Were you thinking about it?" Bella began to toss the blade upwards. The knife somersaulted in the air a few times before she caught it in her hands and sent it twirling back up.

"Yes," Narcissa said honestly.

"I will make you a deal." Bella caught the switchblade once more in her hand and stabbed it into the wooden countertop. "If you don't say anything," She said conversationally, "I will tell you what happened. But," Her tone dropped dangerously low, "If you do tell anyone, I will obliviate your memory."

"Why didn't you just do that before?"

"Because," Bella said chirpily, "I'm either hit or miss with memory charms. Sometimes they work, other times it leaves the person with the mental capacity of a two year old. If that would happen to you, too many questions would have been asked. And, it is quite draining for me." She shrugged before adding, "And I have been drained enough, as of late."

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, I won't tell her."

"Not good enough! I want you to swear it." Bella snapped.

"I swear I won't tell anyone!" Narcissa snapped back. "What more do you want? The Unbreakable Vow, a blood promise?"

"That would be nice, but not really necessary." Bella mumbled before continuing. "Where do you want me to begin?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**All human beings should try and learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why." –James Thurber **

_"Where do you want me to begin?"_

Narcissa wasn't really sure where she wanted Bella to begin. She knew that she wanted to know what had happened, but she didn't know where to begin. Bellatrix seemed to be able to sense this, or she didn't care to hear if Narcissa was going to respond to her question. She began to speak rapidly, information just spilling out of her mouth.

"Her name was Morgana LeFaye. Or Morgan LeFaye. She has been known by both names," Bellatrix began, pursing her lips thoughtfully before opening a cabinet and grabbing a biscuit from it. She nibbled at it delicately. "Wanna biscuit?"

Narcissa shook her head. "Is she a witch?" She inquired, shifting her weight on the stool.

"No, I don't think so." Bella sneered as she said this, scowling at her cookie. "But that doesn't mean that she doesn't use magical objects."

"How do you know all this?"

"I make it my business to know," She rolled her eyes, as if Narcissa was supposed to know that already. "Anyways, she was in there for the compact, which is an enchanted dark object. I have only heard about it in myth and legend before now. It is ancient, it was created right after Merlin died. It is quite possibly the most powerful dark object in existence. It sucks the life force from one person and transfers it into another person. That was what happened to the assistant. It's not really a way to give immortality, per se. It just adds to a person's life."

"Why did you want to see it?" Narcissa thought back to her earlier demands to see the compact.

"I wanted to know if it was the real deal."

"How do you think she got it?"

"Oh, she made it. If she is Morgana LeFaye, she was the one who made it," Her older sister stated very openly. Again, she made it seem like she was saying things the small blonde was already supposed to know.

"How would she have been able to make it? You said you didn't think that she is a witch."

"I have a theory about that. I think it also absorbs the magic inside of anyone you turn it on, and gives it to the owner of the compact," Bella said thoughtfully, reaching inside of the cabinet for another snack.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I think she may have sucked the magical powers of someone into herself. She may have made herself become a witch," Bella scowled again. "Which is disgusting if you think about it. Her stealing some proper wizard's ability. Ugh."

"I have never heard of anyone being able to do that before. Or any object," Narcissa pointed out.

"Merlin was able to perform a spell that would remove someone's magic," her older sister stated. "To make the compact, Morgana had to use the blood of the most powerful being to harness its power. After the metal is poured and set in the cast that makes it, it needs to be cooled in blood to give it its property. Usually unicorn or phoenix blood is used. I think that she used the blood of Merlin. It would make sense if it was. The compact is called the Essence of Merlin."

"Oh."

Narcissa struggled to find anything else to question her sister on. The whole situation was just so horrendously morbid. Part of her wanted to know everything that was going on. Another part of her wanted to get as far away from it as possible. Before she could figure out what she wanted to say or do next the door to the kitchen swung open to reveal her father.

"Rudolphus told me you two were in here. He told me the news, so I do believe congratulations are in order. And Narcissa my flower, you would never guess what the owls brought in this morning. Flower, you have done truly outstanding in all of your exams. What a remarkable feat!" Cygnus Black beamed at his two daughters, not noticing the somber mood they were both in, or the topic of the conversation he had just interrupted.

Narcissa rushed to embrace her father, grinning from ear to ear. "You are home early," she remarked, though not unkindly. "Bella told me that you would be back in a few days' time"

Cygnus returned his daughters hug with much more strength then the small blonde could ever muster. He squeezed her in a bear hug. Narcissa didn't mind this at all. "Business was stalling. The incompetent fools running the firm in Moscow don't know a good deal when they see one, and are too stubborn to accept anything less than outrageous," he scoffed, then chuckled before continuing. "I grew quickly tired of bickering with them, and decided I would much rather see my lovely daughters. I'm glad I came home when I did, I would not have liked much to receive by post that I was to become a grandfather. Such a momentous occasion should be marked in person."

"What?" Narcissa gasped and pulled away from her father. She turned to look at Bella, who was leaning casually against the countertop. "You are having a baby? What, wh, How?"

"Surely you don't want me to explain how, Cissy-baby," Bellatrix deadpanned. "And do stop stuttering so. I swear to Merlin, you turn more into the bumbling idiot Rabastan each day."

"Bella, be nice," Cygnus warned, attempting to be strict and failing as a massive grin covered his face. "This is to be a time of celebration! You are carrying the next Lestrange heir!"

"I am aware."

"Then be joyous! Don't quarrel with your sister. Narcissa, I do believe this would be an excellent time for cake. Chocolate, or maybe red velvet. What do you think, Flower?"

The family couldn't come to a unanimous decision on a cake flavor. Instead, they ended up having Narcissa, who was the best at cooking spells, create a cake that tasted like whatever the person eating it craved at the moment. At the moment, Narcissa's tasted like cherry chocolate. A few moments ago it was peppermint flavored.

"Trixie, dear, we will need to have a proper announcement celebration as soon as possible," Leona Lestrange gushed to her daughter-in-law. Bellatrix sneered at the pet name that the older lady had decided to use for her. Rudolphus rubbed her shoulder, silently willing her to not react to the hated nickname.

"How dreadfully boring," Bella scoffed. "Everyone has announcement parties. I am tired. I don't want one." She then grinned, and added, "Pregnant woman are often fatigued, or so I am told."

Mrs. Lestrange had come over as soon as Rudolphus had told her the news. Thankfully, she had decided to come alone and not bring Rabastan. Narcissa wouldn't have minded terribly if she had decided to bring her husband. Mr. Lestrange was generally quiet, and when he did speak it carried meaning. In essence, he was the complete opposite of his wife, who had kept up a continuous stream of chatter the moment she set foot inside the apartment.

Leona Lestrange was overjoyed at the thought of being a grandparent. This was understandable, seeing as how much of a disappointment her youngest child is. The overbearing lady took this joy to extremes, talking about possibly everything that could be talked about at the time. She had already named the child three times over, ignoring Rudolphus's protests and Bellatrix's demands that she stop. She ignored them both, wiping tears of joy from her eyes as she hugged them repeatedly, blubbering away about how happy the child has made her. Rudolphus shrugged her off, and Bella would violently recoil from the touch, but Mrs. Lestrange paid no attention to this.

"Skipping a formal announcement would be very," she paused for a moment before delicately adding, "crass. It is not respectable. It is not proper, and it is not polite. People will talk about it, and rumors would spread that the child is illegitimate. People will begin to say that you are carrying the bastard child of some," she shuddered "undesirable. Do you want to bring that on yourself?"

"Tell them I am too ill. Nausea and such."

"Bellatrix, there must be a formal announcement. If you will not participate in the preparations, I will do it."

"Just do it, Bella." Cygnus said cheerfully. "You would just need to show up for a few moments while the announcement is made."

"Fine," Bellatrix conceded. "Make sure there is good food there. I will probably be starving."

"Of course, of course. And Mr. Black, I do believe this would be a good time for your younger daughters to assist in the preparations. Your dear wife, bless her, passed away far too early in life. Andromeda and Narcissa have suffered greatly from this injustice. Allow me to mentor them in the fine points of hosting. Allow me to do what I can to help them in their development into prime pureblood ladies."

Narcissa saw Andi roll her eyes at the woman. Narcissa herself wasn't pleased that she was being spoken about as though she were not there, but she had grown accustomed to it over the years.

"That would be greatly appreciated, Mrs. Lestrange. Heavens knows I am a terrible host and planner myself."

"Oh sweet freedom!" Andromeda cried as soon as she threw open the door to the Black manor house. "My ears will never be the same again."

"I understand," Narcissa grumbled unhappily. "Even more so than you. I was sitting next to her. My eardrums are still ringing."

"Be patient with the lady," their father reprimanded. "She is easily excitable. She will calm down with time."

Narcissa thought about that for a moment before deciding that Leona Lestrange would probably never just simply calm down with time. In fact, she could very imagine that her excitability would get worse as she aged. She pointed this out to her father, who scowled at her.

"Flower," he cautioned, his tone warning her that any continued conversation in this direction would not be appreciated.

"There is a new dress that I want from Madame Wilkins shop," Andromeda changed the subject quickly. "It is green, and it is amazing, and I should very much like to get it. May I?"

"Possibly."

"And it would need jewelry too," Narcissa pointed out. "And she could wear it for the announcement party.

Thus began a long conversation between the two sisters. Narcissa found herself saying the girliest things she had ever spoken. Part of her was ashamed of her frivolousness, and the other part of her was thoroughly enjoying the conversation.

"We are such narcissist," Narcissa commented offhandedly, feeling a bit ashamed of it.

"All young people are narcissists," Cygnus Black chuckled. "It is part of becoming an adult. You will grow out of it, I am sure." He teased her, patting the top of her head in jest.

"Your name is Narcissa, if that is any indication of the situation," Andi grinned and poked her sister in the arm. "Just kidding. Sort of."

**A/N: And there is, folks! I have had this finished for a couple of days now, just kept on forgetting to publish it. Anyways, it's not my favorite chapter. It may take me a while to update next, seeing as I have two major projects due tomorrow. Then next week I have two major essays due, as well as a 24''x11'' art project I haven't even began to work on. Soo…. Anyone have any interesting opinions on Macbeth by Shakespeare? I have a paper for that due next week that is worth a third of my grade for my uni class. Haven't even started that yet. **

**Anyways, the Lucius one shot I uploaded will only be available until I update next. I may upload it again under its own thing, but I haven't decided yet. **

**Thanks all who reviewed and read **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"_**But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only**_

_**That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.**_

_**Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—**_

_**Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends have flown before—**_

_**On the morrow **__**he**__** will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before."**_

_**Then the bird said "Nevermore." –Edgar Allan Poe, Nevermore**_

Days later, Andromeda and Narcissa accompanied Leona Lestrange on her trip to Diagon Alley to be fitted for new dresses for the announcement party. They were there to assist her in anything she would need their help with, which was really nothing. Narcissa suspected that Mrs. Lestrange was starved for feminine companionship. Her husband, and her two sons were the only family that she had. Even though Bella married into her immediate family, she was not feminine in the slightest.

So Narcissa and Andromeda were spoiled by the overbearing woman's attentions. She picked them out jewelry and had them try on many frilly dresses. Narcissa wasn't fond of the gaudy and frivolous dresses that she was told to try on, but she didn't protest too much.

The worst one was a garishly neon pink dress. Tulle made up the skirt, and the bodice was bedazzled in colorful gems. The gems made the dress a kaleidoscope of colors. When Narcissa donned the dress, the skirt stuck out at odd angles because of the tulle. The shopkeeper lied when she informed her that she looked like a fairy princess. Narcissa looked like a six year old girl playing dress up.

While that was the worst looking dress she was to endure, there were some others that were almost as bad. An orange dress that emphasized her lack of curves and clashed horribly with her coloring. A green dress that was too short on her legs. A red dress that looked like something her grandmother would wear.

There was one dress, however, that she was immediately drawn to. It was a deep royal blue, simple, but had a very flattering cut. It was asymmetrical, with one strap and one bare shoulder. The fabric shimmered slightly, glittering like jewels in the light of Madame Malkins shop.

Narcissa smoothed the dress over her abdomen, turning to observe herself in the mirror. It was breathtakingly simple. It suited her, she thought. Even though it was guaranteed to attract more attention than the robes she usually wore, she knew that it wasn't as bedeviled and attention grabbing as most girls her age would wear.

"Nissa!" Andromeda called from outside of her changing room door. "You are taking forever! Mrs. Lestrange won't let me change out of this atrocity until she sees what you have."

Narcissa turned and unlocked the door. She stepped into the light and heard Andromeda gasp.

"That's your dress. It's amazing," she gushed. "It's perfect. You aren't leaving the store without it," she declared, linking arms with her younger sister at the elbows.

"I like it," Narcissa grinned, skipping to where Leona Lestrange was waiting.

"You just like it?" Andromeda joked back. Narcissa grinned, but didn't have time to say anything more before Mrs. Lestrange loudly stated her opinion of the dress.

"Narcissa that dress is made for you!" Mrs. Lestrange declared. She stood up from her tufted chair. She came forward and circled around the blonde girl. "It doesn't even need to be altered."

"And it is better than that pink monstrosity," Andromeda laughed.

Narcissa smiled, then turned to the shopkeeper. "I want this one."

"Excellent. I will have it wrapped and sent to your home." The shopkeeper smiled.

_Dear Lucius, _

_I don't know if you will exactly call this progress, but I am going to be helping Leona Lestrange in the preparation for a party. I'm not exactly ecstatic about choosing floral arrangements and such, but I figure it is something I must grow accustomed to. _

_I have owled Sabine Laurendeau a few times since meeting at the party earlier this summer. I don't know how directly that translates into social skills. It is easier for me to write than it is to speak. When writing, you can always erase or start over again and the other would not know. You can't do that in spoken conversations. _

_I hope your summer is going well. _

_-Narcissa_

Narcissa sighed as she sealed her letter for her owl to deliver. She hoped it wasn't rude to owl at this hour. She didn't know if ten was too late to owl someone, as she had never realty had cause to do so before. She rarely had to owl her sisters, and her father wouldn't care if she sent him post late at night if she had to. When she would correspond with Sabine, she would always wrote her letters to her in the morning.

A brief letter from Lucius had arrived for her while she was out in Diagon Alley being fitted for new dresses. A house elf had informed her as soon as she arrived home that a letter had come, and that it was waiting on her bed for her to respond to. Narcissa wasn't able to immediately get to the letter, though, as they also had dinner waiting for them at the table. By the time Narcissa was able to find the time to respond the sun had already set and most people would have been in bed and asleep. She was tempted to wait and respond in the morning, but she decided that Malfoy would probably prefer her to be prompt even if some would consider it rude.

When Narcissa finished penning her letter, she tried to sleep. Though her muscles ached and it was very late, she found herself restless. Narcissa tossed and turned for quite a while before giving up. Even though she was absolutely exhausted, sleep would not come. Instead, she decided to read.

Narcissa wasn't in the mood for reading her school books, nor did she need to. She was nearly finished with the assigned readings for the upcoming school year. So she grabbed a book of prose and poetry. Poems usually annoyed Narcissa and she had to be in a certain mood to read them with any amount of patience. Poems had a roundabout sort of logic to them that irritated her, they never really just said what they meant. With her school books they were always very clear in the point and purpose they had for existing. Arithmancy had clear formulas, history is completely and neatly laid out. Potions had clear and concise instructions for an absolutely transparent purpose. Poetry had none of this clarity. It was unclear, and never just had one visible purpose or meaning. It would never just come up and say what its point of existing is.

This particular night, however, she didn't feel like reading anything else that was immediately available to her. She didn't want to leave her room to look through the library for something she absolutely wanted to read at that moment, and poetry seemed like it would best fit her mood.

She grabbed the book and flipped it open. It was a collection of classic poems and they weren't in any particular order. She recalled from the last time that she read this that she enjoyed the middle section of the book more than the rest. The book opened on Nevermore, a poem by Edgar Allen Poe.

**Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,**

**Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—**

**While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,**

**As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.**

"'**Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—**

**Only this and nothing more."**

**Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;**

**And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.**

**Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow**

**From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—**

**For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—**

**Nameless **_**here**_** for evermore.**

**And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain**

**Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;**

**So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating**

"**Tic some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—**

**Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—**

**This it is and nothing more."**

Narcissa was interrupted from her reading by an impatient scraping at her window. There was a raven perched on the seal of her window, raking his claws against the glass of the window. His beady eyes were unnerving, cold and almost lifeless. The ravens feathers were so black, and his eyes so dark that Narcissa could hardly make out its outline against the darkness of the night. He had an envelope secured around a dark collar around his neck. The raven pecked at the window with his beak once more before squawking loudly.

Narcissa unlatched the lock on her window and pushed it open gently. The raven strutted in through the small opening with an air of superiority. His dark beady eyes seemed to look up with her with almost an exasperated and disgusted expression.

As she reached to undo the fastenings around the envelope, her own owl flew back into her room. Her snowy owl was carrying no post. While Narcissa was looking away, the raven ferociously pecked at her fingers with its beak. Narcissa recoiled for a moment, annoyance bubbling up inside of her. She yanked the envelope from the bird's collar, earning her a sharp squawk of irritation from the raven. Using her uninjured hand, she opened the window wide and shooed the rude bird out of her room.

The beak didn't do too much harm to her hand, but it had broken the skin in a few places. These places has shallow scrapes that would heal in a few days, she knew, but she was still irritated with their appearance. Scrapes were something that small children got, not her. They looked hideous against the cream color of her hands.

She pulled out the letter and read.

_Narcissa, _

_Party preparations seem to be tedious by themselves. Anyone who has to endure anything for an extended amount of time with Mrs. Lestrange has my pity, if I may be so bold. I still think that it may be a good idea, even if you must do so under the grandiose woman's care. _

_I received an invitation for the event this morning. I will attend, simply for the pleasure of your company. I know of a few people that you may have not met before that I will introduce you to. _

_I would suggest that you invite Sabine Laurendeau over for tea, or some other event outside of the home. Go shopping or something. _

_I apologize for any inconvenience that the Raven may have caused you. He is a rather rude bird. Your owl had a bit of a fright delivering your letter, and I thought it best that something else deliver a response. _

_I look forward to seeing you in a couple days. We will be able to discuss more then._

_-Lucius Malfoy_

Narcissa smiled at the letter. She folded it back up in its envelope before putting it in the top drawer of her desk. She yawned, forgetting about her injured hand before laying down and falling asleep.

**A/N: Hey! I updated within a reasonable time period! I'm proud of myself. **

**I uploaded a new story called Black Family Values. It is going to be a collection of oneshots centered around the members of the Black family. I would appreciate it if you guys went and checked it out and let me know what you think. **

**I also created a blog on both tumblr and wordpress if you guys want to keep up with what I do and such. I am tumblr user shayisaslytherin, as is on here. My blog is .com, so check them out if you feel so inclined.**

****And I have been wondering what your guys favorite chapter has been so far in this story. Would you guys be so kind as to tell me which one is the best in your opinion? Send me a review or a PM with your answer, and maybe even why you like it. ****

****Thanks!****

****Shay****


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"**She recognized that this is how friendships begin: one person reveals a moment of strangeness and the other person decides to just listen and not exploit it." –Meg Woliter**

Mrs. Lestrange became, if possible, even more insufferable as the day of Bellatrix's announcement party came by. This is was in and of itself a feat, and Narcissa dreaded every moment of it. She made this fact known to her older sisters, and Lucius in her now twice daily letters. Bellatrix would roll her eyes, and point out that compared to her, she had it easy. Andromeda would rant along with her in hushed tones, keeping their choice of conversation quiet from the adults. Lucius would tell her that he pitied her, and was glad that he only was to show up for the celebration.

Since Leona Lestrange had decided that she was too much in the way, and too much of a bother to send home whilst she was so busy, Narcissa was banished to one of the old guest rooms. Narcissa was glad to be away from all of the activity that seemed to occupy the entirety of the first floor of the ancient mansion, but she was bored out of her skull.

Since the particular guest room she was locked in was seldom used, it was in need of a good dusting. Thin layers of soot and ash covered the mantelpiece and the floor surrounding the fireplace, indicating that it hadn't been cleaned in a considerable amount of time. The bed was bare, stripped of its bedding, leaving an exposed mattress behind. There were no books, nothing that would come remotely close to entertaining her.

Left with nothing else to do with herself, Narcissa hummed loudly, considering sneaking away into the library to find something to read. She honestly didn't know what Mrs. Lestrange would do if she was caught downstairs. The longer she stayed in the room, the less she cared about what her reaction would be.

Pushing the door open, and delicately sliding herself out of the room, she made her way to the library. The library was on the first level of the sprawling Victorian mansion, accessible by the dining room and the hallway. The dining room wasn't being used for the big event, it was too small to accommodate the amount of people that were to be in attendance. It was her best bet of getting into the library undetected.

The French doors creaked as she slowly turned the doorknob. No lamps were lit in the library, and despite the large windows on one end of the room, it was dark. In the dimness, she was able to make out the outline of a candle on top of a desk, just next to a polished ivory skull. She frowned at it for a moment, careful to not touch it as she picked up the candle.

Cursing, she shuffled through the draws, searching for a match. She wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't one in the room, as most people would have just lit their wand. Narcissa couldn't do this, she was still underage.

Just as she was about to give up the French doors leading into the room swung open again.

"Cissy? What are you doing in here?" Rudolphus asked. "It's dark."

"I'm looking for a match. Don't suppose you would have one?"

"I have something even better." He muttered a quick spell, and both the candle and the tip of his wand lit up. "But you know, you could have just opened the curtains."

"I know that now," Narcissa sneered. She didn't particularly like her brother-in-law. "I will keep that in consideration for the future."

"Yes, you are going to have to know that next time you go sneaking around the house. What are you doing down here?"

"Looking for a book to read."

She turned to the shelves and very quickly realized that this library wasn't quite like the one she had in her own home. Here the room was dirty, and gloomy, something that Narcissa made a point to avoid in her own library. The shelves were also adorned with artifacts and ancient tomes in Ancient Greek and Cyrillic. Books on dark magic.

On the shelf nearest her, sat a black, obsidian looking box. Like oil, ripples of purple and gold could be seen, streaking its surface where the candlelight struck it. It sat there, freestanding and separated from everything else on the shelf. It was just a black cube, barely larger than her own palm. To Narcissa it seemed about as useful as a paperweight or bookend.

She reached to touch it, to pick it up to examine it further, when her hand was struck away.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," Rudolphus drawled.

Narcissa immediately retracted her hand, crossing her arms across her chest. "What is it?" She asked, frowning at him.

"It is a Pyxis prism. Sucks out your memories, and essentially leaves you brain dead. It will show you the memories of the last person who touched it. Sometimes it is completely harmless, but it is a tad bit temperamental. So best not to touch it, yeah?" He paused, thinking for a moment. "The last guy who had it, opened up the memories. They were a bit, ah, let's say loud. And graphic. Hard to explain to the guest my parents had over for dinner why blood was dripping from the box. Especially since those guest happened to be Aurors.

"What?" Narcissa exclaimed, backing hurriedly away from the Pyxis prism. "Blood? Why was there blood?"

"No one got hurt, if that is what you are concerned about," he paused for a moment, thinking about what he had said. "Wait, actually the person in the memory did. It is kind of like a pensive, just a tad bit more realistic."

"Whose memory was it?"

"Some daft Spaniards. He upset some people with a bad business deal. Juarez, or Montoya, something to that extent. He had a rather gory run in with some dark wizards a while back."

"Ugh. Is anything in this library safe to go around?" She nodded at a shelf dedicated solely to different poisons and toxins. "I don't feel like there is anything safe to touch in this room!"

"Oh nonsense. That skull over there is perfectly harmless. His name is Timothy Brier. Good fellow."

"You kept a human skull? Of a person that you once knew?" Narcissa cried out in horror, backing away from her brother in law quickly. "Why on earth would you do that?"

"Yeah, he left it in his will. It was a bet, you see. Whoever kicks the can first gets to keep the other's skull. We were just kids when we said this, thirteen I think, but we still honored it in our wills. I probably should go back and change mine. Can't be giving of my skull to a dead man, now can I?" Rudolphus paused for a moment to think. "Anyways, if we have a son, he will be named after Mr. Timothy Brier. Not part of the bet, but I feel that it is fitting. Don't you agree?"

Narcissa shuddered. "Okay. That's enough," she held out her hand in gesture for him to knock it off. He was messing with her, she was pretty sure. And it wasn't what she came here for anyways. "Where are some books that I can read that won't eat me, incinerate me, or contain dark magic?"

"Back corner." He pointed to the corner on the south side of the room. "Can't miss it. They are written in English, so they stick out when everything else in here is ancient. I have no clue what you will find over there. Haven't been back there since I was a kid."

"I supposed that I would probably find you here."

Narcissa's head jerked upward, her book tumbling from her lap to the floor, causing a cloud of dust to rise as it hit the wood. "What?" She murmured as she abruptly sat upright.

"The party has just begun," Lucius said, peering down at her, nestled into one of the armchairs in the library. "When you weren't there to greet me, I thought that you were probably off in some corner, avoiding people. And here I find I was correct."

"I'm not avoiding anyone, I only came back here for a book to pass the time. I must have drifted off," Narcissa replied indignantly. She patted her hair for a moment, praying that it was not to terrible of a mess.

"I see." Lucius knelt to retrieve her fallen book. "The Complete Collection of Lore and Fairytales? I thought you didn't read fantasy."

"I usually don't. It was one of the few things in here that I was positive that would not curse me," Narcissa shrugged her narrow shoulders. "To be completely honest, I was quite fond of it when I was younger. Andromeda always likened me to a pixie or a fairy, and I found the comparison quite agreeable."

"I see," he extended his hand to Narcissa, helping her from her seat. "To be completely honest with you, I once thought that I would make a grand pirate."

Narcissa giggled as she was pulled from her seat. "You, a pirate? Like Blackbeard, sailing the seven seas, plundering and pillaging villages in the heat of the summer? I can't quite imagine you being a pirate. All the dirt, grime, illnesses and such."

"Yes, luckily I outgrew the notion quite some time ago." He smiled at her, "No scurvy for me anytime soon, I'm afraid. Now come along, Pixie, or someone will notice you are missing."

**A/N: I am really not good at giving reliable updates. But anyways, the next chapter will have more of Lucius and Narcissa, and it shall be fabulous. I promise **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"**I know this is war, but the rest of us are trying to pretend it's a party." –Kirstin Cashore. **

Like the end of the school year party, glimmering lights were set up around the Lestrange house premises. Floating candles of light pastel blues and pink hovered delicately in the air, their flames flickering as the gentle summer breeze blew. It was rather pretty, Narcissa was forced to admit.

That was about where the beauty ended. Milling about the patio and waltzing on the dance floor were the guests, some of which Narcissa could recognize. She took a calming breath, willing herself to be anywhere but there.

"You are tense," Lucius commented lightly, nodding in greeting to someone Narcissa did not know. "Relax, all will be well." He smiled at her, a genuine, friendly, and encouraging smile.

"I look ridiculous. My hair is sticking out like a porcupine," Narcissa declared in an annoyed whisper. "I am a dreadful mess." She self-consciously started to smooth her hair with the hand that was not holding on to Lucius's elbow.

"Nonsense," Lucius stopped walking for a moment, untangling Narcissa's hand from the crook of his elbow. He took hold of her hand and led her to a mirror in the hallway off of the main room. "See? You are absolutely stunning. Even if your hair was sticking up, no one would notice."

Narcissa rolled her eyes at him through the mirror. "If you say so."

"I do say so. You look quite like a fairy, to be completely honest." He grinned cheekily at the small blonde on his arm.

"Oh hush. I didn't tell you that so you could make fun of me," Narcissa replied harshly, but smiled back anyways.

"I am not making fun of you in any way, Narcissa." He stated thoughtfully. "Your coloring fits that of a fairy quite perfectly, and you are wearing a blue dress, much like one I would imagine on a fairy. If I had not known any better, I would wager that you intentionally dressed this way to enhance your pixie-like features."

"Luckily for you, there isn't a wager. You would have miserably lost."

"Yes, indeed."

"Speaking of wagers, can I not be paraded around and forced to talk to everyone?" Narcissa asked. "I am quite exhausted, and these shoes are going to absolutely murder my toes." She pointed to her feet donned in grey and silver heels

"Not a chance. You should have chosen a better hiding place if you wanted to hide from the party."

Narcissa sighed, and made her annoyance known, but followed him anyways. That is until she who Lucius was leading them towards.

"Lucius!" She snapped, digging her heels into the ground. "Please do not tell me you are intending for me to speak to Alice Greengrass and Arianna Parkinson. I am not going to speak to them!"

"Why not? They are perfectly agreeable," he said in a more patronizing tone than Narcissa would have liked.

"To you maybe. Or to any man. The rest of us happen to think very little of them."

"So you basically are saying that they are sluts?" Lucius raised an eyebrow at her. "How brash of you. Not to mention rude."

"Don't go lecturing me about being polite," Narcissa snapped. "But yes, I am essentially saying that, in more polite terms."

"You aren't wanting to be around them because of their reputations?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Have you met your older sister, Narcissa?"

"Don't you dare," Narcissa snarled. "Don't go there, Lucius. Leave my family out of this."

"Correct me if I am mistaken, but I was under the impression that Bellatrix had far more of a reputation than those two combined."

"I am warning you, Lucius," Narcissa hissed, glaring as menacingly as she possibly could at him.

"And you are about as intimidating as a butterfly, my dear," he chuckled. "You are being hypocritical, if I do say so. Everyone has some sort of reputation. Theirs just happens to be pleasing men, which isn't as dishonorable as you think."

"I am not speaking to them," Narcissa declared, pulling them to a stop before they could reach the patio. "Right now I have very little inclination to speak to you, Mister Malfoy." Narcissa hissed as she pulled her arm back. "One cannot chose their family, but I can chose who I associate with. And I am choosing not to associate with Alice, Arianna, or even you at the moment."

"Come now, don't be that way," Lucius laughed. "Come on, Pixie."

"Don't tell me what to do, and don't call me that. I am going to get some punch, if you don't mind."

"Narcissa!" Lucius called behind her, but she was no longer in the mood to listen.

With her head held up high, she made her way to the refreshment counter. _What does he take me for? A common whore like those girls? _The thought made her want to cry. _Stupid Malfoy. _

Grabbing a cup, she poured herself some red punch. _Stupid, stupid Malfoy. _

"Narcissa, are you sure you want to drink that?" Lucius asked, coming to her side.

_Speak of the devil, and he shall appear._

"Leave me be. You have offended me enough for one evening." Narcissa stubbornly pulled her glass back to herself. Raising an eyebrow at him, she quickly gulped down half of her glass before he could do anything about it. It burned a bit as it traveled down her throat, and she had to fight back the urge to belch.

"Do you even know what that was?" Lucius raised an eyebrow at her.

"Punch. Watermelon-y and fruit-y punch, if you want specifics." Narcissa snapped back, desperately wishing for some sort of water to take the burning and tingling sensation from her throat.

"That's one way of putting it. Really, it is punch with a little extra punch," He pulled the crystal cut glass from her hand and gave it to one of the servants. Then he gave her a glass of water.

"What do you mean?" She held back another burp as she sipped delicately at her water.

"It's spiked. Probably with vodka. Possibly something a little bit stronger."

"Oh," Narcissa giggled a bit before realizing how utterly ridiculous she sounded.

"Did you not read the label?"

"I didn't notice one. It was just in a crystal bottle."

"I see. You probably didn't drink enough to get drunk, tipsy maybe, but not drunk. Do you want to dance?"

"I'm still mad at you."

"And I am certain that you will soon forgive me, for we are friends, correct?"

"Correct," Narcissa replied cautiously, not knowing where he was going with this question.

"And friends dance together at parties to avoid more undesirable company, right?" His face held a look of pure innocence, an entirely false and fake innocence, she knew. She was wary answering the question.

"Yes, but not when one has offended the other," Narcissa said delicately, attempting to raise her own eyebrow at him like he had done so many times to her.

"Good point," Lucius shrugged. "But let's not waste that wonderful dress of yours. Someone ought to dance with you. Shall I find you another companion for the night? Rabastan has been looking rather longingly in your direction since we stepped out," He grinned at her impishly.

Narcissa felt like throwing her hands up in defeat, but thankfully she restrained that urge before she made a fool of herself. "Fine. I will dance with you. Even though you are a conniving snake."

"Is that supposed to be offensive? I find it rather complimentary, if I do say so myself," He offered her his elbow once again, which she took, taking extra care to poke him with her long nails. "Any means to achieve the end, right?"

"And what is that end supposed to be?"

"To dance with the most beautiful girl at this blasted party." He extended her hand to her.

"Well, Brianna Nott is looking lovely tonight. Her dress suits her quite well, do you not agree?"

"But she is a whale under that dress. Her midsection has been rapidly expanding of recent times, if you have not noticed. I do not think that it is typical weight gain. I am not going to get involved."

"Lucius, someone will hear you! What about Arabelle Davis? She is rather thin."

"Reminds me too much of a Weasley, with that ginger hair of hers. And there is such a thing as too thin."

"Lysandra Peverell?"

"She isn't all that fond of me."

"Emily and Cassidy Flint?"

"Twins unnerve me."

"Jenelle Yaxley."

"No. None of those silly girls."

"Then who?"

"Don't be daft, Narcissa. You far surpass them all."

"I do not. Eva Carrow?"

"Stop," he said, right as the music came to a close. He pulled Narcissa away from the dance floor. "I am not joking when I tell you that you are undeniably, and unequivocally, the most stunning creature here tonight. You see, I have already achieved my goal, I have danced with you. I could leave now tonight a happy man. But I am going to push my luck and ask you to dance with me once again."

"Lucius, you cannot be serious."

"But I am. Though you did stumble on my toes a couple of times, I'd say it was worth it."

"No, I am small, I am silly, I don't know how to talk to people, and I am skinny. And," Narcissa pointed to her head, "My hair is sticking up like a porcupine. Don't let a pretty dress fool you."

"Nonsense. You are lovely, and I wouldn't waste my time trying to tell you otherwise if you weren't."

"But-"

Lucius leaned forward and stopped whatever protest she was about to make with his lips. He pulled away almost as quickly as he had kissed her.

Narcissa giggled a bit, and looked down. She pulled her hair over her like a curtain.

"You are lovely, Narcissa, truthfully." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "And your ears blush quite terribly."

Narcissa's ears reddened further at the comment. She looked down, letting her face be covered by a curtain of her hair. Lucius brushed some of it behind her ear as he continued. "But lovely nonetheless. So, dance with me once again, would you?" He didn't really give her time to respond, but pulled her gently into his arms and lead her out to the dance floor once again.

Narcissa smiled, leaning into his shoulder a bit more than she would have normally. Lucius gave no complaint as he spun her around under the twinkling stars and lights.

**A/N: I updated within a reasonable time frame! Yeah, go me! Unfortunately, I don't think this updating streak will continue. I only had the time to get this written because I was extremely ill. Fortunately for me, I am starting to feel better. Unfortunately, this means that I am going to become extremely busy once again. **

**Since last time, I forgot to mention the holidays, I figure I ought to do so now. Happy holidays to you all! Thank you all for your continued support and reviews. **


	13. IMPORTANT UPDATE

**This isn't an actual update. Sorry ): **

**I am finding it hard to continue this story. There was support in the beginning, but as I am going along, there seems to be less people interested. It takes a lot of time and effort to write, and it is getting increasingly harder to do. I know some of you have followed and Favorited, but that was with the earlier chapters. Is anyone actually still reading? So, before I invest even more time and energy, I just want to get a feel if anyone if still interested. I haven't decided whether or not yet if I am going to finish the story, but that will be determined by the response I get from this. However, if I do decide to stop, I will at least tell those who are interested how the story will end, okay? Thanks guys!**

**-Shay**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.

"**Friendships unfold gradually as women share intimacies with one another- this takes time. You need to be willing to let your friends know the real you, but you don't want to spill your guts out the first time you're out to lunch." –Irene S. Levine **

Narcissa had taken Lucius's advice and invited Sabine Laurendeau over to the manor house for lunch. She had thought that they had hit it off at the end of the school year party hosted by the Lestrange's at the beginning of the summer.

At their original meeting, Narcissa had thought that the girl was nice, and pleasant, something she wasn't expecting from the French aristocratic Pureblood. Sabine embodied the epitome of the perfect looking girl, with her bleached blonde hair immaculately curled and her expensive designer robes. Though Narcissa could afford the same robes and her hair was already naturally white blonde, she knew she would never be able to match the confident air that the French girl gave off.

Narcissa thought that she was kind enough to pursuit a friendship, and Lucius agreed with her. Now, she was realizing that a single meeting doesn't give enough insight into someone's personality to determine whether or not a friendship would be a good idea. Originally she saw just her appearance, confidence, and sophisticated airs that Sabine gave off. Now, once the girl made herself comfortable in one of the armchairs in the drawing room, Sabine became someone entirely different from what Narcissa was expecting.

"So, darling," She drawled, grinning like a cat toying with its prey. "There is this one absolutely delicious bit of gossip going around now," she enunciated her sh sounds in her words with unnecessary harshness. Narcissa supposed that she probably thought that it was charming, when in reality it was quite irritating.

"I am quite sure I haven't heard about it," Narcissa promised. She wasn't one for gossip. In fact she thought that the way that other girls talked so much about others was very unflattering. She preferred to just let others make themselves look like fools. If she were to be the one to point out that foolishness, then she would be just as idiotic by default.

"Oh, but surely," Narcissa shuddered at her pronunciation, "you must have! It does concern you, after all." Sabine grinned widely again, but Narcissa had the distinct feeling that she had some other motivation behind it other than simple friendliness.

"Then I most definitely haven't heard it. People don't make a habit of talking about gossip that pertains to me in my presence." She was going to continue to say _it would be rude of them to, _but Sabine cut her off before she could get the words out.

"Then allow me to be the one to enlighten you!" Sabine leaned forward in her seat, her dark blonde hair falling in curls into her lap. She mentioned for Narcissa to lean over as well. As soon as Narcissa was properly situated, Sabine whispered loudly "This latest rumor has something to do with the extremely eligible and handsome Malfoy heir."

"Oh?"

"Yes! And you!" Sabine said loudly, making Narcissa cringe as the noise hurt her ears. Sabine sat back suddenly, words falling out of her mouth at a remarkable speed. "Do you know the true reasons that Malfoy agreed to take you on as his little project?"

Narcissa didn't particularly like being referred to as a project, but she ignored this for the moment. "It was a bet."

Sabine looked at Narcissa as if she suddenly sprouted green and orange hair. "Don't be thick. His father has been trying for ages to get him to select an acceptable future bride."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"Duh! He told his father that he was rather taken with you, but his father had a few qualms with the way that you behave in the public eye. Malfoy needed to prove that you could handle yourself in trying social situations."

"So, according to this rumor, Lucius is haplessly in love with me so he started this project to change me, and to test me so his father would approve?"

"Yes!"

"That is utterly ridiculous."

"It is the truth! I saw him at the party with you!"

"What on earth are you on about?"

"Even when he was in relationships with other girls, he never treated them like he does you," Sabine scowled, her lips pursed in a ridiculously pouty manner.

"That's because they were all sluts," Narcissa snarled. "I have some standards."

"Oh yes, princess," Sabine replied sounding like she had daggers of ice in her throat. "Obviously, you are better than the rest of us. Even when he was dating me, he didn't treat me as nicely."

Narcissa froze, realizing she just insulted the French girl terribly. She opened her mouth to blurt out an apology, but Sabine raised a hand. "Stop. I don't want to hear it. I just thought I should warn you, Lucius Malfoy isn't nice. He knows how to act that way, but he isn't. Trust me. He will string you around, use you, and mess you up. You won't be the same person you were before, and it is hell." She stopped and smiled. "But, yes, I was a 'slut'" she made quotation marks with her finger when she said this, "when I was dating him. You don't need to apologize."

"But I really didn't mean to insult you," Narcissa whimpered pathetically.

"I know you didn't, but it really is an accurate description of what I was before."

"I'm still sorry."

"It is fine. Now, enough of Malfoy boy talk. Let us talk of more favorable men! Tell me all about your cousin, Rosier!" Sabine said, helping herself to a slice of lemon cake on the table. "He is really quite handsome."

Narcissa cringed at her irritating cousin being described as handsome, but divulged what Sabine wanted to know anyways.

**A/N: After much deliberation, I have decided that I would continue so long as there is some support for the story. Going off of the reviews from my last update, there are only five people who want me to continue. I will continue for their sakes.**

**But here is the thing. I have other stories that are getting so much more support than this one. The stories that have a more active following are going to be the ones that take priority. I base this primarily off of the amount of reviews I get per chapter. **

**So, for the next update, I need five reviews, okay? **** On average, over two hundred people will read this chapter, so I just need five brave souls to leave something to let me know that they are interested. You could even leave more, because the more reviews I get, the more I feel pressured to write. **

**But anyways. Short chapter, I know. But it is pretty important for the rest of the story. What do you guys think of Sabine?**

**And another side note; I have created a blog. Show your support and give it a like or a follow or whatever your heart feels like. **** posts/ magicallydivineinspirationfairy. wordpress. com **


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